Sparks
by earthstar001
Summary: Ace had never met a woman so infuriating as Ai. The only female member of Whitebeard's main crew. She was hot headed and rash...he was hot headed and rash...wait...where were we going with this? Ai has a dark past that haunts her. How is it linked to Boa Hancock, the snake empress. [AcexOC]
1. Chapter 1

" I'd hate to see you die here, kid." A rather tall elderly man with a large white mustache said. He wore a black bandana on top of his head. He had a long white Commander's coat dropped over his well muscled shoulders. Scars littered his naked upper torso. His cold black eyes glared down at the teen boy crumpled at his feet. He bleed from the many cuts and scraps on his body…and of course the large one on his chest that the man himself had given him moments ago. The elderly man's name was Edward D Newgate…aka Whitebeard, the strongest man in the world. The man closest to maintaining the mythical treasure One Piece and becoming the next King of the Pirates.

" It'd be such a waste of talent." The man crouched beside the boy, gripping a massive bisento in his right hand. The boy glared back at him angrily. The elderly man admired the determination he saw in the teen's eyes as they fought desperately to stay awake. " If you still want to wreak havoc on this sea, bear my name on your back and go wild as much as you like!" He grinned tauntingly down at the teen whose eyes widened in disbelief as he fought desperately to retain consciousness.

" Become my son!" The boy's jaw went slack at the very thought. He was still fighting to keep conscious when he heard himself yell: " _YOU_ ' _VE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME_!" Just before he lost consciousness.

" _**SHIT**_!" The teen yelled as he jolted awake. His entire body hurt. 'Moron…' He thought. 'That's what you get for fighting for five days straight…but where am I?' He glanced around at his surroundings. A plain cabin with a generic bed, dresser and in table which currently his hat and dagger sat on. He reached over to grab his hat when pain shot from his chest throughout his entire body.

' _ **SHIT**_!' He thought angrily. 'Way to bite off more then you could chew, Ace!' Then the realization of where he was hit him like a sack of bricks. This wasn't his cabin…this wasn't the medical room on his ship…this wasn't even his ship! He jolted out of the bed, ignoring the steering pain pulsating throughout his entire body. Running as fast as his injured body could allow, tripping over his boots that were next to his bed, he flung open the cabin. Fresh air and sunlight blasted him in the face.

Ace's eyes widened in horror at the sight before him. Waves crashed loudly in his ears, salt and wind slapped his face lightly. Seagulls flew skillfully into the open skies around him. " Shit…" He muttered quietly. " Shit, shit, shit!"

" Oh, so you're awake!" Ace jumped at the sound of a cheerful male voice to his left. He turned to see a tall man, his light brown hair styled into a pompadour. Around his left eye was a large scar. He white clothes, resembling a chef's shirt and capris, with black buttons running down the right side. A gold scarp was tied around is shoulders. " We were starting to think your fights with Jinbei and Pops may have killed you."

" What am I your hostage?" Ace growled angrily. " I hate to tell you that no one's going to pay a ransom for me."

" Wow, you're a right little ray of sunshine aren't you?" The man laughed. " We're not ransoming you to anyone, so you can relax."

" What happened to my crew?"

" Well after you passed out they tried to gift with the captain and he beat them silly." The man pulled himself up onto the railing to sit. " My name's Thatch, by the way." Ace glared at him. " If you're wondering about your crew's well being they were fine. A little banged up…but alive."

" What do you guy's want with me?"

" Nothing really." Thatch said smiling happily.

" Then why am I here?"

" Pops sees potential in you."

" Potential for what?"

" For anything." Ace stared in confusion at Thatch. " Pops has the ability of seeing the potential in people who will go far in life."

" So he plans on using me for his own personal gain!"

" He isn't like that." Thatch said, hopping down from the railing, never once breaking eye contact with Ace. Ace took a small step backwards. " I suggest staying a while on the ship and finding out for yourself." With that he turned and left.

" Not like I have anywhere else to of."

A couple weeks passed by and Ace continued with his determination to defeat Whitebeard…even if it meant getting the shit kicked out of him.

 _ **CRASH**_!

Ace was flung through a wall as his latest attempt to defeat Whitebeard failed. He glared over at the old man, who had simply rolled back over in bed and continued to sleep.

" Hey Ace!" A drunk bystander yelled angrily. " It's to late at night to be doing that shit!"

" Yeah man!" Another yelled. " Give it a rest for today!" Ace stood up and dusted himself off. If Ace was anything it was determined. He would defeat Whitebeard and claim the title of Strongest in the World and become the next King of the Pirates…he had to.

" Hey Ace!" He glanced over toward Thatch, who sat with a group of men on the main deck of Whiteboard's flag ship, The Moby Dick. They were playing poker, clearly two of them were drunk. One of the drunk men had a blonde mohawk and sleepy eyes, another was dressed in traditional geisha clothing…complete with hair, make-up…the works. Next to him was a tall, dark-skinned, muscular…not drunk, his black hair was pulled back into cornrows. " Come play with us."

" No thanks."

" Come on, kid!" The large man said. " Take a break from trying to fight the old man for a while and rest up."

" Yeah, you're just gonna wear yourself out if you keep going after him like this." The geisha man said. " Then you'll make a mistake and get yourself killed!"

" Yeah! You don't wanna do that until you've gotten to meet Ai." Thatch said examining his cards carefully.

" Who?"

" You're right, Thatch!" The large man said in amusement. " He hasn't met Ai yet!"

" True shit, Jozu!" The blonde said, laughing loudly. " Ai'll be pissed if he dies before he meets her!"

" What are you jackasses talking about?" Ace snapped.

" The commander's are referring to ai, the only female member on the crew." A bystander said, leaning over a nearby railing, grinning down at him. Ace hadn't noticed that a crowd had gathered, watching the scene going on currently.

" She's been gone for a few months now. She's a real firecracker, Ace!" Another said, grinning down at him. " Isn't she due back sometime soon, Marco?"

" Now that I think of it…yeah, she should be." The blonde said.

" So what does it matter if I meet her or not?" Ace asked.

" You might not care but she will." Jozu said. " Damn it, Izo! Hurry up and pick a damn card already!"

" Shut up, asshole!" The geisha man grumbled, placing his card down. Marco grinned excitedly before slamming his card down.

" GIN!"

" WE'RE PLAYING POKER!" Izo yelled.

" I thought we we're playing Black Jack…" Thatch said in confusion.

" I thought we were playing Olde Maid." Joss said hurriedly.

" No wonder the playing table looks so confusing." One crew member.

'These guys are the commanders of Whiteboard's fleet.' Ace thought warily. 'They're complete morons! It's like being surrounded by a bunch of Luffy's!' He remembered how his little brother was constantly getting him into trouble and arguing with him about stupid things.

" So why is it important that I meet this Ai person?"

" Like we said it might not be important to you but it'd be important to her. You're kinda weird!"

" How am I weird?" The group shrugged in unison. " You jerks have no right calling anyone weird!"

" Hey man, we never said it was a bad thing!" Thatch said. " We were paying you a compliment."

" Yeah, you were just being mean." Marco said. Ace was about to reply when he felt the wind kick up and heard what sounded like a sneeze and a whooshing sound was getting louder and louder. He had not realized that everyone on deck had suddenly quickly vacated the premises.

" _INCOMING_!"

Ace looked up at the sound of a high-pitched feminine voice to see a blue and black blob falling towards him. " _**SHIT**_!" He yelled trying to get out of the way…he was not quick enough! The oh-shit face did not cover it.

 _ **SLAM**_!

Ace crashed face first into the deck of the Moby Dick as something collided with him. " I'M HOME!" A cheerful feminine voice said happily. A baby blue haired girl with green eyes came crashing down on him…changing his life as he knew it forever.


	2. Chapter 2

" Welcome back, Ai." Marco said as he walked towards the blunette.

" I missed you guys!" The girl named Ai said, grinning from ear to ear. " Hey, where's Pops? I brought you guys some things from Fishman Island!"

" Really? I don't see anything."

" Wait for iiiiiit!" Ai said sticking her hands out. Marco heard a loud whooshing sound. Looking around nervously he saw several large shadows appeared. The oh shit face appeared suddenly and he looked around hurriedly. All the while Ai just continued to grin excitedly. Suddenly several large caskets of food and jugs of sake fell from the sky only to hover slightly above the deck.

" Glad to see your devil fruit powers are improving." Izo said hurriedly, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek.

" Of course, did you think I just sat around Fishman Island eating candy and drinking did you."

" That's what you did the last time you went." Jozu said smirkingly.

" I was twelve!"

" Uh-huh, you haven't changed that much since then." Thatch said, leaning against a jug of sake. " You're even still the same size."

" I AM NOT!" Ai snapped angrily, her seafoam green eyes alight with fire. " I'VE GROWN A LOT SINCE THEN!"

" You're still such an elf!" Jozu said laughing loudly.

" She still acts like a twelve year old." Thatch said, enjoying how Ai was so easily agitated.

" NUH-UH! NUH-UH!" Ai whined, flailing her arms like a six year old. " I'VE GROWN A LOT SINCE THEN!"

" A while half an inch." Marco chided.

" So much more than that!" Ai groaned. " And why is the deck so weird to sit on! I think you guys need to get a shipwright to fix this."

" You know, little sister," Thatch laughed. " You're pretty special."

" Something I've always known."

" As fascinating as this conversation is…" Ai heard a disgruntled voice say from underneath her, causing her to jump in surprise. " But could you get the fuck off of me! _**NOW**_!" Ai looked underneath her to see a lean teen boy with messy black hair.

" _**AH SNAP**_!" She squeaked as she hurriedly got off of him. " ARE YOU OKAY?"

" Perfectly fine." He snapped in annoyance, trying to work the knot out of his back. He glanced over at her and froze, staring into her sea foam green eyes. He felt heat flood his cheeks suddenly. He took looked her over a few times. Taking in every single detail. Her long baby blue hair fell past her elbows was tied back into a high pony tail. Her skin was a soft cream colored. Her face was heart shaped, with delicate features. She was short, even while wearing a pair of black combat boots she was around five foot two inches, compared to him, around six foot even. She wore a pair of black cargo pants, littered with pockets. She also wore a black bikini top, that barely covered her D Cup breasts. In-between said breasts was a large cross tattoo stretching from the top of her sternum down to her pelvis. Across the horizontal portion of it was Whiteboard's trademark mustache. Ace recognized the symbol as the same one Marco had emblazoned on his chest.

" Sorry about that, new guy!" She said hurried, her eyes lit up in excitement. " My landings aren't always the best! So over the years the guys have kinda learned it's best to just get out of the way."

Ace managed to wrench his eyes away from her breasts to stare at her over-eager face. The stupid excitement that was there. For some reason that seemed to anger him. He couldn't figure out why but it did. He wanted to get rid of that look on her face. " What kind of moron can't control their devil fruit powers." That did it. Confusion flooded those sea foam eyes.

" I-"

" Seriously, how long have you had your powers?" Ace growled, knowing that he shouldn't be enjoying the confusion and hint of anger and annoyance starting to flood her face. " You act like someone who just got them and can barely control them."

" Hey now!" Ai snapped, the wind started to churn around the ship. Her hair swirled lightly around her face. " You've met me for a whole, what, twenty minutes. Now you think you know me?"

" Uh…oh…" Ace heard Thatch whisper. Out of the corner of his eye he saw some of the crew members take a couple of steps back.

" Don't you think you're being a little judgmental on someone you just met?"

" I'm a pretty good judge of character."

" You're full of shit." Ai growled, the wind starting to kick up more with each passing word she heard him speak.

" Shit Marco, do something!" Ace heard a random crew member say hurriedly.

" Yeah! Last time this happened she almost caused the main mast to get ripped apart!" Another said, his voice full of fear.

" Come on, you two!" Marco said, stepping in between the two teens. " No need to say things that will be regretted later."

" Who's regretting anything?" Ace snapped, confused as to why he was enjoying the anger flashing through the small girl's eyes. " She's supposed to be a devil fruit user and yet she can't even perform a simple task of being able to stop herself from crashing into a crowded area."

" This inept devil fruit user's about to smack the shit out of you!"

" Ai! Behave!" Thatch said, hurrying over to her pulling her away from Ace.

" Me? _**BEHAVE**_!" Ai yelled, her voice going up a couple octaves. " HE STARTED IT!"

" I know!" Thatch said hurriedly, attempting to calm her down. " But just try to be the bigger person here."

" Bigger person?" Ace snapped. " She's a dwarf."

" _**WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME**_!" Ai yelled, her face flooded with heat and anger. " _**YOU FRECKLED FACE JACKASS**_!"

" What did you just call me, you midget dwarf!"

" _**COME A LITTLE CLOSER AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE**_ , _**FRECKLES**_!" The wind quickly began to kick up more and more now.

" SHIT!" A bystander yelled. " SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!"

" _**ACE**_! GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!" Marco yelled, attempting to keep his eyes

" _**OH NO, MARCO**_! LET ME SMACK THOSE STUPID FRECKLES RIGHT OFF HIS STUPID FACE!"

" Fine!" Ace snapped, whirling around and storming off towards the below deck area.

" _**LET GO OF ME**_ , _**JOZU**_!" Ai snapped. Marco hadn't realized that Jozu had decided to jump in and hold back their little sister. She may have been small…but when she was angry she could cause a lot of damage. Marco liked Ace…and he was sure that Ace liked his face with the skin attached to it.

Marco watched as Ai struggled to free herself…as Jozu struggled to maintain his hold on her. He also knew exactly why Ace had picked a fight with Ai. He had noticed the young fire wielder starting to let down his guard gradually around the crew over the past few weeks. Ace must have realized it himself and started to put the barriers back up around himself.

" LET GO!"

" Ai, stop!" Marco snapped causing the blunette to pause, glaring angrily at him. " I need you to calm yourself. If you keep this up, you'll break something…like the mast…again…"

" Or possibly wake Pops up too!" Thatch said.

" That would be worse than breaking something." Izo said going more pale then normal. " And I'd rather have something break and deal with it when he wakes up normally then have you keep threatening to kill Ace…and when you threaten to kill someone you can be extremely loud in the actual attempt to kill said person…which would wake him up and he's extremely grumpy when someone wakes him!" Ai herself went a little pale at the thought. Whitebeard could be more than a little terrifying whenever he was awakened from his sleep. At the thought of occurring her captain's wrath Ai relaxed slightly against Jozu.

" Fine…but that Freckled Face Jackass better watch his mouth! If he keeps saying shit about me, who he just met, I will smack the shit out of him!"

" Just calm down, Ai!" Thatch said hurriedly.

" _**I AM CALM**_ , _**THATCH**_!"

" If you were calm the rest of the crew wouldn't be about ready to shit their pants!"

" Keep it up and I'll blast you off the ship!"

" That isn't very nice, Ai!"

" Shut it, Thatch!"

" WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" The whole crew froze going pale instantly. Ai's green eyes were as round as saucers as she glanced nervously to the left…to see Whitebeard standing there ominously. His face shrouded in darkness.

" H-heh h-hi, P-Pops!" Ai said hurriedly, a bead of sweat rolling down her cheek. " Wh-Wh-What are you doing up so late?"

" Because the voice of some little blue-haired runt woke me up!" Whitebeard snapped. " Is it impossible for you to return from a trip without causing so much noise?"

" Technically it wasn't her fault this time, Pops!" Marco said quickly.

" If she can't control her anger then she needs more training."

" Pops-"

" No…he's right…" Those words from Ai made everyone look towards her in confusion. She felt herself go limp against Jozu. " As the Acting Commander of the Second Division…I should be in better control of my emotions. What kind of commander can't control their emotions…that would be horrible in battle…"

" We've seen that before in battle." Thatch said. " It's come in pretty handy a time or two."

" Regardless…I'm going to train harder so that that stupid jackass won't get under my skin so easily." Ai said, her face twisted into a grumpy frown. " Anyway Pops…I brought you all some sake from Fishman Island. King Neptune sends his regards. He wants to know when the next time you'll visit them." This caused Whitebeard to laugh.

" I'll eventually go see that giant old guppy!" He lifted a cask of sake and walked back towards his bedroom, before reaching his room they heard him say. " Keep it down, brats!"


	3. Chapter 3

Ace stood in the shower, letting the water roll down him. He was trying to control his anger. He didn't know why he said those things to Ai but he did. If Makino were here she'd be disappointed in him for his rudeness. Maybe he should apologize to her. No, he should apologize to her. The first chance he got he'd apologize.

Ace stared down at the floor as water dripped from from his face and hair. " She didn't have to bring my freckles into this…" He felt his eyebrow twitch at the thought. _Seriously_! How childish is that to bring up someone's physical features into an argument. That is way beyond childish!

Even though that is basically what he had done when he called her a dwarf. " _Shit_ …" He muttered angrily, fists clenched. He really was an idiot.

The door to the shower open behind him and he heard soft footsteps enter the room. Soft humming from behind him caused her to stiffen up. His eyes wide at realization of who was behind him. He whipped his head around to glare at the stupid bluenette.

" Oh no! You need to _l_ - _l_ - _l_ -" Ace stuttered loudly as he stared at Ai…who was standing there naked in front of him…full frontal naked. A fluffy white towel tossed care-free over her shoulder…whistling a happy tune. Propped against her hip was small tub filled with hair care products, body wash and a wash clothe.

" What's your problem?"

" _Y_ - _Y_ - _Y_ - _You_ ' _re_ _**naked**_!"

" No shit, Sherlock!" Ai snapped, walking towards one of the many shower heads. She carelessly tossed the towel over the side of the stall divider.

" W-W-Why are you naked?"

" How else would someone take a shower?" Ai said, untying her hair from its ponytail and letting it fall down past her bottom. " You're naked to, in case you didn't realize it." Ace felt his face redden even more then it already was. He looked down at himself in his birthday suite and quickly grabbed a nearby towel and tied it around his waist.

" _WHY ARE YOU NAKED HERE_?"

" It is the shower. I've been traveling for a few weeks and haven't really been able to get a decent shower. So now's my chance to get a good one!" She reached over and turned on the water, relaxing as the warmth of the water splashed against her skin.

" _WHY CAN_ ' _T YOU JUST WAIT UNTIL I_ ' _M NOT IN HERE_?"

" Why should I? There's no reason to wait."

" _**UM**_ , YES THERE IS! _**YOU**_ ' _ **RE NAKED**_!"

" And?" Ai said letting the water run over her body. She felt all her aches and pains, the soreness in her back, the perpetual coldness throughout her entire body melt away. " It's just me without any clothes on."

" _THAT_ ' _S THE POINT_!" Ai whirled around on him and Ace saw her once again naked…full frontal. Water dripping down her body. Over her breasts…down her well muscled abdomen…down her well muscled legs…down somewhere else…Ace's face flooded with heat again as he took in her full nudity.

" What the hell is your problem!" She snapped as she placed her hands on her hips angrily. " Do you think you're so much better then me that you won't even share a damn shower room with me!"

" _T_ - _T_ - _T_ - _That has nothing to do with it_!"

" Then what is it?"

" JUST PUT A DAMN TOWEL ON OR SOMETHING!" Ai felt a lightbulb go off above her head.

" _Oooooh_! I see what the issue is here!" She said, an evil cheshire cat smile appearing on her face. " This is the first time you've seen a girl naked!" Ace was taken aback.

" NO IT ISN'T!" It was true. She wasn't the first girl he had seen naked. He had in-fact seen many girls naked before. A few back in Foosha Village, near the mountain where he had grown up. He had seen _a lot_ of naked girls after he had left on his trip.

" So what's you're problem?"

" Just shut up and put a damn towel on!"

" I don't know who you think you are but you do _**not**_ tell me what to do!"

" Just shut the hell up!"

" There you go! Telling me what to do!"

" MAYBE I JUST DON'T WANT TO SEE _**YOU**_ NAKED!" Silence fell between them. Realization of what he just said hit him like a ton of bricks. He saw her quickly bite

" Then maybe you should turn the _**FUCK**_ around and look at the _**MOTHER FUCKING**_ wall!" She whirled around and continued showering.

" Oh come on!" Ace said hurriedly…attempting to repair the damage he caused. He remembered Makino saying that he should never… _EVER_ insult a woman's looks. He had said some pretty rude things about his adopted mother Curly Dadan's looks but if anyone had ever met her…they'd know he spoke the truth. Yet for him to say something rude like this to a girl he just met…who clearly wasn't unattractive. ' _Say something_ , _dip_ - _shit_!' He thought hurriedly. ' _Fix it_!'

" I think you might be over-reacting just a tad bit." Another hush fell over the room.

" Excuse me?"

" Uh-Oh…!" Ace jumped at the sound of male voices from outside the door. A large vein throbbed heatedly in Ai's temple.

" Those fucking morons." Ace heard her mutter under her breath angrily. He saw her lift up her hand, a small wind current started swirling around in a tiny ball. She tossed it lightly towards the door. Ace saw it slide flawlessly underneath the door…and then he heard a loud explosion and several screams of terror.

" Morons…" Ai said opening up her shampoo and began lathering up her hair. " I swear if the old man wakes up from that it'll be their fault and they can fucking deal with it."

Ace's eyes were wide in shock. Apparently she could handle her powers if she put her mind to it. Then why was she not able to control her landings? He watched her carefully, trying to figure out what she her motives were.

" _A_ - _A_ - _A_ - _CHOO_!" Ace saw Ai shoot up into the air and whack her head on the ceiling. She fell to the floor and started rubbing her head.

'She's a ditz…' Ace thought a sweat drop appearing behind his head. 'There's no other word for it…'

" Stupid damn steam!" Ai muttered grumpily. She stood up and resumed washing her hair. It's a good thing she had a hard head. She had gotten used to crashing into things at a young age after she had received her powers. She didn't get dizzy or have black-outs whenever she crashed into things.

Ace continued washing himself, wanting to get out there as quickly as possibly. Mentally yelling at himself for sneaking peaks at Ai washing out of the corner of his eye. ' _Stop it_!' He told himself. 'She's annoying! She's just going to cause you problems in the future! She's not even that attractive!'

He knew he was lying to himself. She actually was fairly cute. She was really cute to be honest. She had nice hair…nice eyes…nice breasts…that looked really… _really_ soft. He caught himself looking elsewhere as well. With her back turned to him he was looking a little farther south. At the nicest ass he had ever saw. He just wanted to reach his hand out and- ' _Seriously_! _Stop_ _ **it**_!' He thought angrily, willing himself to stop looking at parts of the blunette across from him.

That's when he noticed that her hair was lifted high onto her head in a large foaming ball. He saw that her back was exposed and just below her shoulder blades was a tattoo…or a brand. It appeared to be a large circle with four triangles, three above the circle and one below it. It resembled a paw print.

Ai was in her own zone as she rinsed her hair free of shampoo. It felt so wonderful to not be covered in dirt and grime. To have warmth flooding throughout her entire body. Aside from a certain freckled face jackass across the room she was completely relaxed.

" Nice back tattoo." Ai froze at the sound of Ace's voice. She felt her breathe catch in her lungs…she thought that her heart had literally stopped in her chest. The relaxed feeling and warmth had rushed out of her body. She felt herself go pale.

" Wh-what did you say?" She asked hurriedly, tossing her hair frantically back over her shoulder in a fearful attempt to cover the mark on her back.

" I said nice back tattoo." Ace said in attempt to not be a jerk. " Or is it a brand? How long have you had it?"

 _ **WHAM**_!

Ace felt a intense gust of wind blast him against the wall. As the wind held him there he managed to open his eyes just a bit. He was able to see the look of horror and fear present in Ai's face. He saw her grab the towel beside her, wrapping it hurriedly around her body. He also noticed that said body start trembling just before she darted out of the room, past Marco who was heading towards the shower room. With nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.

" What did you do?" The first commander asked in confusion as Ace fell to the ground, gasping for air.

" Nothing!" Ace finally managed to cough out. " Jeeze, what the hell is her damn problem? Is she bipolar or something?"

" She's a teenage girl so yeah." Marco said walking to an empty stall, removing his towel and starting the water. " What did you say anyway?"

" What makes you think it's my fault?" Ace groaned, finally being able to stand up.

" Like I said before, she's a girl, a teenage girl at that. So yes, it is your fault."

" All I said was that I liked her back tattoo." Ace groaned in annoyance, starting to leave the shower. He'd spent enough time there for one day. For the rest of his time on this damn ship for that matter. " Jeeze, who knew paying a girl a compliment would get me thrown against a wall…and not in a fun w-" He was cut off when a hand grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall.

" WHAT! THE! FUCK!" Ace managed to choke out. " _**SERIOUSLY**_! WHAT THE FUCK IS _WRONG_ WITH YOU PEOPLE?" He froze as he saw blue flames start to appear around Marco, dancing dangerously.

" I would highly suggest…" Fear ran through Ace's body and the venom in the normally laid back man's voice. " …that you forget that you ever saw that mark on her back."


	4. Chapter 4

Ace tried to forget about the mark on Ai's back over the past few weeks. It was definitely hard though. However his mind was quickly distracted by his annoyance at her intercepting his attacks to Whitebeard. No matter what his attack was or where it was attempted, she was there to counter it. It was like she made it her personal goal to ruin his plans to defeat Whitebeard. Yes, he realized that he was ignorant of him to just assume that all of Whiteboard's crew would just step to the side as he tried to kill their captain but come on! Throw the guy a bone!

Currently he was crouched beside a nearby cabin, a large battle axe hidden behind his back. He had been watching the old man from this position for a while now; trying to figure out how he was always one step a head of him. How he could figure out the exact moment of Ace's attack and counter it. He would defeat him and claim the title of the world's strongest…he had to.

Yet…right now he couldn't even beat a five foot two girl. He gritted his teeth at the memories of her basically handing him his own ass the other day. In-front of everyone on the crew. With virtually no effort on her part. She was making him pay again and again for his comment of her not being able to control her powers. He had never been so humiliated before in his life. Not even when he still lived with his younger brother, Luffy.

" What are you up to, Freckles." Ace jumped as he heard Ai's voice from behind him. He whirled see her glaring down at him, arms crossed against her chest. He noticed ever since their incident in the shower room that she wore a sleeveless jacket…covering the mark on her back. Something that he knew he wasn't supposed to mention. Yet not being allowed to talk about it made him want to ask her more about it.

" None of your business, dwarf." He replied back, enjoying the sight of the vein in her forehead start throbbing. He found it amusing how annoyed she became from him simply referring to how short she was.

" Stop plotting to take down Pops." She said in an attempt to control her anger. " No matter how many times you try you'll fail. He's the strongest man in the world for a reason. Some random kid isn't going to be able to defeat him."

" I'm going to laugh my ass off when I prove you wrong."

" Tell me something, genius." Ai said, anger dripping from each word. " What exactly is your plan once you do defeat him. How are you planing on getting away alive? You do know that even if you do succeed we won't let you leave this ship alive."

" I'll fight every last one of you."

" You'll die. We won't let you get away with killing our father."

" He's your captain, not your father."

" That's what pisses me off most about you, you idiot." Ai said growing more and more annoyed with each moment they were in each other's presence. " You've been on this ship how long and you haven't noticed a damn thing. Every crew is close to their captain, if they deserve their respect. This crew is different." Ace ignored her words and prepared for his attack.

" So Pops, what are your thoughts on Ace?" Thatch asked curiously. He was carrying a cask of food towards the kitchens when the curiosity got the better of him.

" He's persistent I'll give him that." Whitebeard said in amusement.

" Persistent in his attempts to kill you, you mean."

" He's pretty persistent in pissing off Ai too." Jozu said as he lended some assistance to Thatch's chore.

" Yeah Pops, what are your thoughts on that?" Marco asked lazily causing Whitebeard to laugh in amusement.

" We start the wedding preparations sometime soon." He said.

" That'll piss Ai…if not both of them off pretty badly." Marco said.

" Yeah they fight way to much for them to ever develop a romance between the two." Thatch said. " Plus if she hears you, say that she might even try to kill you herself."

" We'll need to start the wedding planning for those two soon." Marco said.

" Aw, come on, Marco!" One crew member said. " Those two hate each other's guts! There's no way they'll ever end up together!"

" You don't know anything about kids these days!" A large heavy set man with long woolly black hair said. He has several missing and rotten teeth. He wore a large white t-shirt that didn't fit, exposing up to his navel, course black hair covered his stomach and chest. " That constant bickering is just foreplay."

" Seriously Teach," Thatch said in annoyance. " I don't think they're doing anything like that."

" Really? They act like two little kids, the boy pulls the girl's pigtails because he likes her and doesn't know how to tell her."

" 'Cept in this case the girl get's pissed off and shoots the boy off the side of the ship because the boy's a dense fucktard and keeps saying stupid shit that pisses the girl off." Marco said, taking a drink from a flask that he pulled from his pocket.

" Really Teach, that's how you see them."

" That's how everyone sees them." Marco said. " Those two are going to end up screwing each other eventually."

" That's our sweet little sister you're talking about, Marco."

" She may be sweet but she needs to get laid and the fire kid is the perfect one for her to do it with." Thatch rolled his eyes at Marco's crudeness.

" What makes you think Ace is going to be good for Ai?"

" Angry sex is always the best." Marco said, a smirk appearing on his face.

" I don't know," Whitebeard said as an amused look came across his face. " Sex with a crazy woman is pretty great too." Just then Ace appeared behind him, a large battle axe in his arms, behind him. Ace was about to swing it when Whitebeard whirled around and slapped him away as if he were a fly buzzing around and annoying him. It just so happened Ace fell into the ocean.

" Ah shit, Pops!" A crew member yelled. " He's a devil fruit user!"

" Shit!" Another said quickly. " Someone needs to go in there and save him." Whitebeard glanced behind him to see Ai slouched over the side of the railing, watching the scene before her with bored eyes.

" Ai," He said coolly, watching as her eyes shifted back to him.

" Yeah?"

" Come down here." She nodded before she disappeared and a soft gust of wind swirled beside him.

" Yeah, Pops?" Ai said as she stepped out of the soft current. He handed her part of a newspaper. She looked at him in confusion before scanning the paper in her hands. She felt her breath catch in her chest quickly. She stared at an image of a young woman with long black hair, a high forehead and dark blue eyes.

" That is Boa Hancock." Whitebeard said coolly, eyeing Ai to see her reaction. " She's the newest member of the Shichibukai." Ai was frozen as she stared at the image in-front of her.

" The Snake Princess of the Kuja Pirates has become a tool of the government…" Ai whispered quickly her chest suddenly feeling tight. Her mind race with a million questions raced through her mind, yet only one she was able to voice came out. " _How could she do this_ …?"

" You mean 'why would she do this'." Whitebeard said softly causing Ai to jump. He saw the pain and fear run through her daughter's eyes as she tried to come to grips with the fact of the news of the Snake Princess. " Ai…"

" Is this the only thing you wanted to show me." She said looking away, trying to avoid showering the pain in that her eyes were showing. She felt a warm hand rest gently on her back. She glanced over to see him looking down at her in concern.

" Ai…"

" I'm fine, Dad." She said quietly. She jumped at the sound of Ace being dragged onto the deck. She quickly tried to hide her emotions. Not wanting the fire wielder to see her so vulnerable. She wouldn't be able to live it down if he saw her this way.

Not that she cared. She didn't really…but…as his commander she didn't want him to see her showing vulnerability. That meant she was showing weakness. That was something she could present to him. For some reason he got under her skin.

" You can leave if you want." Whitebeard said quietly. She smiled, thankful that her father knew her so well. Knew when she needed to be away from everything. " But you can't leave the ship. I don't have any missions for you right now." Never mind…he didn't know when she wanted to be alone.

" D-"

" We are nakama, Ai." He said as he knelt beside her, his dark eyes gleaming gently with love and compassion…like he had so many times when she was a child. " That means we're here for you. You just have to let us in…let us know when you're hurting."

Ai relaxed against his warmth. A safe warm feeling. The warm feeling that only a true a father could give his child.

" I-I'm fine, Pops…" Ai finally whispered, forcing a nervous smile. " May I leave?"

" Since when do you need permission to do anything?" A half hearted smile appeared on her face. Whitebeard leaned forward and kissed her forehead. He enjoyed seeing his children happy. Most of them had lead such horrible lives that even the slightest glimmer of joy in their eyes would bring joy to his heart.

" That's what you get for raising children who run wild on the open sea."


	5. Chapter 5

Ace sat hunched against the side railing of the ship; arms wrapped around his knees, head sunk in defeat. ' _I_ ' _m never getting off this ship_ …' He thought angrily. He just sat there in depression and anger. His anger at every single damn person on this stupid ship.

 _ **CLINK**_!

He glanced up to see a hot plate of food beside him and Marco walking away. He honestly didn't get these people. He was constantly trying to kill their captain, breaking the ship, arguing with a certain stupid blue haired woman…and they still took care of him like he was one of their own.

" You guys…" He muttered in defeat, it was something that made Marco turn to look at him. " …why do you call him father, anyway?" Marco stared at the teen in-front of him for a moment, letting his question sink in. He eyed the boy who looked as though he had lost all drive…all hope for his future. He glanced back towards the rest of the crew who were joking and laughing. Drinking and singing. Enjoying each others company. A smile appeared on his face before he replied.

" Because he calls us his sons…his children." Ace looked up at him, confusion evident in his black eyes. " To the rest of the world we're all just outcasts. We came here broken and alone. Empty and in pain. He accepted us for who we were. Gave us a home…a place for us to call home. For some of us…" He paused and looked up to the very top of the main mast. Where he saw a certain blue haired girl sitting there, staring at the same newspaper clipping that Whitebeard had given her. " …for some of us it's the only place where we can feel safe." Out of the corner of his eye Marco saw Ace look up to where Ai was sitting. " Each of us have a past…a story. Most of them aren't the best. We finally found a place where we belong."

" It's just a word…but it makes us happy!" Ace bit his lip and ducked his head, trying to hide the pain that flowed into him. He felt his jaw clench, his teeth gritted. Marco smiled and walked towards the teen. Sighing, he crouched down in-front of him, his face becoming almost as serious as it had been when Ace had asked about the mark on Ai's back.

" Hey," He said coolly, " how long are you gonna keep risking your life like this?" Ace glanced up to stare the First Commander straight in the eye. " Make up your mind already! You can't possibly take the old man's head the way that you are now." Ace looked away as anger and realization of Marco's words struck the truth.

" Are you gonna get off this ship and start over…or…are you gonna stay here…and accept Whitebeard's mark?" Marco stood and looked back to where Ai was still sitting. " The choice is your's to make."

" What about her." Ace heard himself say before he could stop himself. Marco looked down at Ace who's face was still hidden. " What's her story? Why is she here?"

" That's her story…" Marco said quietly. " She's the only one who should tell it."

Ai leaned against the mast, her eyes glazed over as she stared at the newspaper. She felt her fist clench in anger, the wind starting to swirl around her. " Stop it." She heard herself say, willing herself to control her powers. If she lost it now she could risk injuring or killing someone. She couldn't live with herself if that had happened.

She shoved the paper into her pocket and slung one of her legs over the mast, tucking her arms behind her head. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. Tried to will herself to a peaceful sleep.

A small blue haired girl was huddled in a dirty corner, curled into a ball trembling. She couldn't understand why the people around her were so cruel. They'd beat her if she wasn't able to keep up with the group. If she dropped something. If she looked at them wrong. They'd even take her food if they wanted to. She was just to small to stop them. A lot of times she was just to tired to fight them off.

Often times she was afraid they'd kill her. Often times she wanted them to kill her. At the age of four she often wondered if death would be better then the life she currently had. Being kicked and beaten and smacked around made her long for her home, where the most beautifulest flowers she had ever seen grew.

She tried to curl up into a tighter ball as a shiver passed through her body. She was never warm. Never…not once in her life. She never remembered having warmth in her life or even an ounce of affection. She never knew a mother's love or a father's protective embrace. She was often jealous of the kids near where she had lived. They didn't know how lucky they were to have a safe home with a family.

She moved slightly, wincing as pain shot from her back around into her ribs. She whimpered slightly as she heard the clinking of chains around her. She trembled as the collar around her neck dug into her skin.

She heard her own breath quicken as she heard footprints approached her. She clutched her head in anticipation of an oncoming attack. " Stop that trembling. It's just pathetic." The girl peeked a cautious sea foam green eye out to see an older, beautiful girl with long black hair and dark blue eyes. She stared down at the younger girl before her with dull eyes. " What's your name?" The younger girl looked at her in confusion. This was the first time someone had ever asked her that question. The first time someone had ever bothered to speak to her other then to abuse her.

" What's wrong? Are you to stupid to even remember your own name?" She crossed her arms. The younger girl glanced behind her to see two other girls, slightly younger then the black haired girl. One had shoulder length wavy green hair and green eyes. The other had shoulder length wavy orange hair, brown eyes and pouty lips.

" What's your name?" The blue haired girl asked making the older girl blink in surprise.

" Hancock." She said cooly. " Boa Hancock. These are my sisters, Sandersonia," she gestured to the green haired girl. " And Marigold." She gestured to the orange haired girl. " Now what's your name." " I don't have one." The blue haired girl said in a baby voice, becoming uncomfortable with the conversation.

" What do you mean you don't have one?" Hancock asked in a haughty tone. " Everyone has one. What do people call you?" The blue haired girl shrugged sadly.

" Lots of things…Brat…Little Shit…Thief…"

" Thief?"

" Only when I'm hungry…"

" What does your family call you?" The blue haired girl stared at Hancock in confusion. " What? Do they call you what everyone else does? Where they captured like you were?"

" I don't have a family…"

" What happened to them?" The blue haired girl shrugged.

" Never had one." Hancock knew the girl was young but hearing her baby voice really hit home. She never really liked to show her emotions. She always prided herself as being the most strong willed amongst her and her sisters. Right now she wanted to hug this girl.

" Well you can come sit with us." The girl looked up at her, nervousness present in those green eyes.

" Why?"

" You're small…I'd rather not see these disgusting people crush you." She saw the nervousness turn into fear at Hancock's words. " We're not going to do anything to you." She held her hand out to her. " Girl's like us should stick together in this hell hole filled with savage men. If you want…we can be your family…"

" My family?"

" We'll be your big sisters. You'll be our little sister. We'll keep you safe." The blue haired girl stared at Hancock's delicate hand. She could tell that underneath the dirt and grime was strength. She reached out and took it nervously. " I also have a name for you."

" A name?"

" Yep! From now on your name will be Ai."

Ai blinked her eyes open to see the sun starting to set. She stretched sleepily before hoping off of the mast, falling quickly to the deck of the ship. Before she crashed to the deck she summoned strong wind currents to wrap around her, allowing her to land lightly onto the deck.

" Hey Ai!" She glanced over to see some of the other members drinking from flasks. " Play us a song!"

" Yeah!" Another said drunkenly. " We haven't heard you play in a while! You've been gone for a long time so we missed your music."

" Alright, you dorks." Ai said as she reached into the small bag strapped to her left hip. She opened it to reveal a small silver flute separated into three pieces, polished and shined to perfection. She quickly assembled the flute together and began to play.

The crew gathered around her happily and began to sing along with her melody.

 _Gather up all the crew_!

 _Time to ship out Bink_ ' _s brew_!

 _Sea wind blows to where_ ,

 _Who knows_?

 _The waves will be our guide_!

 _O_ ' _er across the ocean_ ' _s tide_ ,

 _The sunset is goin_ ' _wild_ ,

 _See the sky_! _The birds singing in circles passing by_!

She smiled lightly at the crew members around her singing eagerly. Her brothers…her family. She'll do whatever it takes to keep them safe. She spotted Ace standing off to the side, apart from the others. Uncertainty etched into his eyes. _All of them_.


	6. Chapter 6

" What is this thing?" Ace asked a few hours later as the rest of the crew drank happily. He himself was holding a mug in his hand.

" It's a flute." Ai said happily downing another mug. Ace was starting to get a little nervous watching her. That had been her sixth mug of beer. She was so short and scrawny that Ace was wondering where she was putting it all. " Maybe you should back up a little on your booze intake."

" You sound like a nagging old lady, Freckles!" Ai said, her cheeks slightly red. " Buzz off!"

" Come on, Ace! Leave the poor girl alone!" Thatch laughed, slapping the teen on his back. " Besides, she may not look it but she can out drink most of the men in the crew."

" Where does she put it all though?" Ace asked in amazement.

" Who cares?" Marco said. " The thing you need to watch out for is when she starts mixing her drinks…"

" What happens then?"

" She wants everyone and anyone who's dumb enough to accept her challenge…or look at her."

" Yeaaaah…" Thatch laughed. " Last time she had Jozu in an arm bar, crying for his mama."

" BUT THIS TIME IT'LL BE DIFFERENT!" Jozu bellowed drunkenly. " COME ON, AI! I'M GONNA SED YOUR SCRAWNY ASS FLYING!"

" Naaaah…" Ai said with a slight hic-up. " Not in the mood to embarrass you in-front of everyone!"

" There's no getting out of this rematch, little girl!" Jozu yelled, drawing back a large fist as a thick coating of diamonds started to slowly cover his entire body. Launching his immense fist towards the teen girl, only to hit empty air.

" What…the…" Ace muttered in disbelief, looking around for the blunette.

 _ **WOSH**_!

Joss was sent flying into a nearby cabin wall. " Jeez," Ai mumbled, scratching the back of her head. " You could at least make this entertaining."

" Aw, come on, Ai!" A short boy with cropped brown hair and blue eyes said. He wore a green and white 16th century styled ruffled outfit with white tights; a saber with a ruffled styled hilt was strapped to his back. " You know he can't fight when he's drunk!"

" It's his own stupid fault, Haruta!" Ai said with another hic-up, stumbling slightly falling backwards onto her back.

" Jeez," Ace grumbled. " A woman falling over drunk, that's real attractive."

 _ **WHACK**_!

" YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH ME, YOU FRECKLED FACE JACKASS!" Ai yelled, sitting up quickly and throwing her mug at Ace's face; her cheeks slightly pink from drink.

" YOU ARE SO NOT EVEN REMOTELY ATTRACTIVE!" Ace yelled back, his face red from impact with the mug.

" WHY DON'T YOU COME OVER HERE AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE!" Ai yelled, waving her hands in a cocky manner. " LET'S SEE WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF!"

" I'M GONNA MAKE YOU EAT THOSE WORDS, DWARF!" Ace yelled back, fire appearing around his fists as he rushed towards her.

" Aw man…" Thatch said sadly. " …they were getting along so well a few moments ago and now they're fighting."

" Ah, they're fine, Thatch." Marco said coolly, taking a swing from his own mug.

" I keep telling you guys that this is how kids now a days flirt!" Teach said grinning. " Fighting is basically foreplay for them."

" Could we please not use that word when referring to Ai." Thatch said an ew look on his face. " She is our little sister after all."

 _ **WHAM**_!

Ai had flung Ace into a nearby cabin wall, cracking the wood slightly. " Ai, I hope you know that anything you break you're gonna have to fix it!" Marco said.

" Take it up with Freckles, Marco!" Ai said cheekily. " He's the one who started this!" Ai jumped when she saw a flash of red and orange flew towards her head. She barely had time to dodge as Ace's flame covered fist flashed past her face.

" Eyes on me, Dwarf!" Ace yelled, jumping up before he dropped his foot towards her, who was barely able to dodge. Blow for blow the two blocked and parried. Each strike becoming more and more powerful.

" Ace is hold up pretty well against her." Thatch said, his eyes wide with surprise.

" It helps that he's not plastered and she is." Haruta laughed just before a gust of wind blasted him square in the face.

" _**I HEARD THAT**_!" Ai snapped towards him.

" It also helps that Ace is a quick study." Marco said. " He's able to pick up on Ai's techniques easily…he's going to go far if he keeps this up."

" I agree, with the right teacher and the right amount of stubbornness, both of them will go far." Izo said just as Ai swept Ace's feet out from underneath him.

" SHIT!" Ace yelled as he hit the deck, feeling the wind get knocked out of him. He didn't have time to react before Ai was on top of him; straddling his waist, with her legs pinning his arms to his sides.

" Gotcha, Freckles." Ai said, enjoying the sight of him struggling him underneath her. She leaned closer to get a better look at the annoyance on his face.

" _**GET OFF ME**_!" Ace growled low.

" Make me, Freckles." Ai said, tracing his jawline gently with her finger. " You know," She whispered low into his ear. " You're kinda cute when you're annoyed, _Ace_ - _kun_." Ai enjoyed the red blush that appeared on his face as he began to splutter in embarrassment.

" _ATTENTION ON DECK_ , _BOYS_ … _AND AI_!" The crew jumped in unison as someone had called everyone to attention as Whitebeard walked onto the main deck. The Fleet Commander walked towards a large chair at the center of the main deck.

" Ai…" Whitebeard said in an amused voice as he sat down in his chair. " …stop trying to kill the new kid." Laughter errupted from the rest of the crew, an happy smile appearing on Ai's face. Ai stood up rubbing the back of her head goofily.

" Sorry Pops!" She reached down and offered Ace a hand to help him up. Ace glared up her before looking away. " Oh come on, it was just a friendly little sparring match! No hurt feelings or anything!"

Ace stood up angrily, ignoring her jester for help. Walking away from her he grabbed a lone mug of ale, chugging it quickly. " Fine," he heard her mumble under her breath. " Jackass."

" We have an issue that needs addressed." Whitebeard said, the tone of his voice seemed to catch everyone's attention, a sense of unease fell upon the crew at their commander's words.

" What's wrong?" Ai asked curiously.

" Isla de Flores." A hush fell over the crew as Ace noticed all eyes flashed between Whitebeard and Ai, even the Fleet Commander's eyes were locked on the blunette.

" What's Isla de Flores?" Ace asked Jozu, who had managed to wrench his head out from the cabin wall.

" Damn that hit of her's is like getting blasted by a tornado." Jozu grumbled. " Sorry kid, what was it you asked?"

" Isla de Flores." Ace repeated quietly. " What is it?" Jozu paused coolly, trying to think of what to say.

" It's a small island located in the southeast area of the New World, it's under Pop's protection."

" And?"

" It's also under the jurisdiction of the Second Division…led by Ai. It's her responsibility to protect it and monitor the economy there."

" Is there something else?"

" …in the past it was subjection to slavers attacking it and capturing the citizens. Once it became one of Pop's territories it remained safe from danger…but if he's bringing it up now something must have happened to it." Ace looked towards Whitebeard trying to hear the conversation he was having with the small blunette, unfortunately his voice had gone low, almost a whisper. Ace decided to move closer, determined to hear learn more about the present situation.

" There has been word of people on the island have been disappearing over the past few weeks." Whitebeard said quietly.

" Why are we just getting word of this now?" Ai asked, clenching her fists. " Why did they wait to inform us?"

" I don't know but I have a suspicion that someone may have taken over the town there."

" That's a ballsy move," Ai said. " They would have had to of known that we'd eventually find out about this, and come to investigate."

" Either way we can't let this go." Marco said coolly. " This is an insult to our captain and our crew. Those people are our responsibility."

" Which is why I'm going to take care of this." Ai said, arms crossed angrily.

" By yourself?" Izo asked nervously. " Why not take the rest of the Second with you."

" There's no reason all of them should come," Ai said coolly. " Besides, if the whole division came with me they'd stick out like a sore thumb. We wouldn't be able to find out who the culprit is then."

" You're not going alone." Thatch said in a no nonsense tone. " Someone will go with you."

" I don't need anyone to come with me." Ai said, her eyebrow twitching. " I can handle this by myself."

" Still," Whitebeard said, his aged black eyes suddenly deep in thought. " We don't exactly know what we're dealing with. You will need some form of back up in case things get uneasy."

" Agreed." Marco said. " A small group won't attract to much attention. You can't be everywhere on the island, Ai. Beside, you'll be able to gather more information on what's going on there with a group."

Ai sighed grumpily. They had a point it would be more practical to go with a small surveillance group…but she didn't want to involve anyone in this. It was her problem, not their's. " Fine, I'll take someone with me."

" Good!" Whitebeard said grinning, lifting a nearby cask of ale and bringing it up to his mouth. He took a couple large swigs of its contents before saying. " Ace will go with you." A silent hush fell over the crew once more before the two teens both yelled.

" _**WHAT**_?"

" _OH COME ON_ , _**POPS**_!" Ai yelled angrily. " _WHY ARE YOU SENDING A IDIOTIC NEWBY ALONG_!"

" _I DON_ ' _T EVEN WANT TO GO_!" Ace snapped just as angrily. " _AND WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN IDIOTIC NEWBY_ , _**DWARF**_!"

" _SHUT UP_ , _ **FRECKLES**_! _YOU_ ' _RE ONLY GOING TO GET IN THE WAY_!"

" Will you two calm down." Marco laughed. " Think of this as a learning experience. You two never know, you could learn a lot from working with each other. You might even become great partners."

" _**WHY WOULD WE WANT TO BE PARTNERS**_?" They both yelled angrily, both had equally large veins appearing in their temples.

" _I DON_ ' _T WANT TO WORK WITH HIM_!" Ai yelled, feeling her blood pressure rising with each passing moment.

" _THERE_ ' _S NO WAY IN HELL I_ ' _D EVER WANT TO BE PARTNERS WITH HER_!" Ace yelled, not realizing he had been flailing his arms around like a child throwing a temper tantrum. That was…until he felt his hand grab something soft. Another hush fell over the crew and Ace felt an ominous and deadly aura coming from behind him.

He glanced behind him to see the source of the aura coming from Ai; a shocked and disgusted look on her face as he realized he had accidentally grabbed her breast.

" _You_ …" Ace heard a demonic tone to Ai's voice as she spoke. " … _have about ten seconds to remove your hand_."

Ace didn't know what to say, he didn't know if he should say something. All he knew was that he couldn't move his arm for some reason. Every braincell in his head was screaming at him to remove his hand…but all that happened was he heard himself say. " They are a lot softer then what I thought they'd be."

 _ **WHAM**_!

" Ouch…" Haruta said flinching as he saw Ace's get slammed into the deck.

" _**PERVERT**_!" The commanders all flinched at the sound of the angry blunette's voice.

" Are you sure this is going to be a good idea, Pops?" Thatch asked looking up at their captain who had returned to the cask, taking several large gulps.

" _GURARARARARA_!" The old man laughed. " Those two need to just hurry up and confess that they like each other."

" Pops…" Thatch said cautiously. " …are you trying to play match maker?"

" _GURARARARARA_!"

" Either way, those two working together should be entertaining. That is…if they don't kill each other first." Marco laughing, taking a swing of ale.

" That's why you're going with them." Whitebeard said making Marco choke on his drink.


	7. Chapter 7

" Ai, where are you going?" Marco said leaning over the side of the ship to see the blunette in a medium sized boat with a large fan on the back of it.

" Shit!" Ai growled jumping slightly. " You are way to sneaky sometimes! Did you know that?"

" What are you doing?" Marco asked once again, a cheeky smirk appearing on his face.

" N-Nothing!" Ai said hurriedly, a guilty look evident on her face.

" Not trying to sneak away on your own before the rest of us were ready now are you?"

" Noooooo!" Ai said attempting to hide her apparent guilt. " Of course not! Just making sure my boat is ready to go, that's all…" She noticed the smug-know-it-all look on the First Commander's face. " Okay fine! You caught me! Just wipe that stupid look off your face. How did you know?"

" Of course I knew you were trying to sneak off by yourself and head to Isla de Flores by yourself. I did help raise you you know." Marco joked before suddenly becoming serious. " Like it or not you're going to need some help here, no one here wants you to go there alone. You need to start relying on others more, especially those under your command. You can't ask them to trust you if you won't trust them."

" Trust has nothing to do with it." Ai said looking away.

" Then what is it about?" Ai almost replied when she heard a loud mumbling sound.

" What's that sound?" She asked, eyes wide in alarm.

" Nothing…"

" Marco…what did you do?"

" _FIIIIIIIIIIINE_!" Marco said lifting a rope up to show a bound and gagged Ace struggling for freedom. " He would stop trying to escape as we made him pack for the trip."

" Is that normal rope? How is he tied up still?" Ai asked curiously. " Can't he just set it on fire?"

" It would appear that he's not that bright." Marco said, hauling Ace onto his back before hoping down into the boat. " Are we all set?"

" Yeaaaaaah." Ai said looking around, quadrupling checking things were correctly stowed and accounted for the way she always did before a trip. " As far as I know it is."

" Well if we need anything we can always stop at a market on the way there." Marco said coolly, tying Ace's ropes to the side of the boat securely. " Ready?"

" Yeah, you know I could have been halfway there by now if I didn't have to wait for you two."

" Yeah, yeah, yeah. Keep whining and I'll toss you in the ocean." Marco said sitting across from Ace, arms slung over the side of the boat lazily, one leg crossed over the other. " Let's go already." He grinned over at Ace who was still glaring over at him.

" Fine," Ai said pulling out her flute and assembling it as she sat at the main chair in-front of the giant fan. " Hold on tight." She brought the instrument to her lips and began to play a soft tune.

Ace felt a soft breeze begin to kick up around him just as the fan behind Ai began to slowly spin. He noticed that as the melody began to kick up so did the speed of the fan. Marco reached over and untied the boat from the Moby Dick and the boat darted quickly away.

Wind blasted him in the face as he fought to keep his eyes open, barely able to keep them at a squinting level, tears streaming down his cheeks. " First time on a Air Streamer?" Marco asked grinning over at him. " This boat was designed to use wind to propel it forward. So it's basically perfect for Ai. She asked the shipwright to design this for her.

" The only thing is is that the balance on these boats are extremely delicate. They tip over easily. So try not to go nuts and capsize us, alright? I don't feel like dying with you two."

" Could you be quiet?" Ai asked, pausing in her tune. " It's hard to concentrate with you blabbering on like that."

" You know you don't have to play that thing to keep the boat moving, we can flip the autopilot on." Marco said boredly. " Not that I don't mind hearing you play but you'll eventually get tired."

" It's fine," Ai said, her voice somewhat distant. " We'll make better time if I give us this little boost."

" Just let me know when you get tired, I'd rather you not pass out from over exertion."

Hours passed by and Marco had eventually untied Ace after the amusement of seeing the teen fidgeting and attempting to undo the ropes himself. " Seriously Ace, you could have just set them on fire or just fazed through them. You are a Logia type after all."

" Shut up." Ace grumbled, a pink hue on his face. He didn't want to admit it himself that he hadn't thought of doing something so obvious.

" _Ai_ …how are you doing there?" Marco's voice pulled Ace out of his thoughts to see the girl's eyes starting to droop.

" I'm fine…" Ai mumbled sleepily. Marco reached over at yanked the flute out of her hands.

" Break time, kiddo." He said a commanding no-nonsense tone.

" _Hey_!"

" Don't start! You've been at that damn thing for ten hours."

" Marco! Give me my flute back!" Ai growled low, the exhaustion suddenly gone from her face.

" Only if you put it away for a while!" Marco said unfazed by the angry aura being exuded from the girl.

" _Give_ … _it_ … _back_."

" That doesn't work on me, brat! Now take a break or I'll tie you up like I did with Flame Brain over there."

" Leave me out of this argument."

" _**SHUT UP**_ , _**MORON**_!" Ace's counterparts both yelled over at him before returning to their glaring contest.

" What's it gonna be, brat?" A long silence fell over the three of them, Ace's eyes nervously flicked between his two companions. Remembering quickly what Marco had said earlier about the boat being easily tipped, hoping that a fight wouldn't break out.

" _Fine_." Ai said finally, crossing her arms in a child-like way. Marco handed her the instrument back finally, face locked in a stern expression. Ai took it hurriedly and placed it back into it's pouch at her side.

" Now switch seats with me, kiddo." Marco said making the girl get up from the main chair. Grumbling under her breath, Ai flopped into down on the bench across from Ace.

" All that over a flute." Ace said in confusion. " It's a flute."

" Shut up, Freckles." Ai said poutingly. " You don't know anything."

" Obviously." Ace grumbled before noticing the exhaustion returning to the girl's face.

" Get some rest, Ai." Marco said, messing with a switch on the side of the main chair, causing air to be sucked into the fan, moving the boat forward. " You'll need to be at full strength tomorrow."

" We're that close?" Ace asked curiously.

" Isla de Flores is at the top of the second division's territory. We were actually somewhat close to it when we left the ship this morning." Marco said boredly, glancing over at the teens. " It's a such a tiny island, barely a spot on any map really."

" So why would someone attack it?"

" Because it's easy pickings." Marco said boredly. " Why would the Marines send a squad out to defend such a small island with barely an economy when there are so many more promising places to protect."

" Why would Whitebeard make it part of his territory then?" Ace asked noticing Marco become uncomfortable and shift his gaze to a finally sleeping Ai.

" Everyone deserves to feel safe." Marco said finally.

" So what's up with that flute of hers?" Ace asked, watching the sleeping girl. When she wasn't running her mouth she was actually kind of cute. " Why did she get so pissy when you touched it earlier?"

" Pops gave it to her shortly after she joined. From the way she reacted it must have been the first gift anyone had ever given her."

" She had never been given a gift before?" Ace asked, even he had been given a gift before. Granted not many, and they were mainly from Luffy…and they were mainly headaches and all manner of gross things, but he had at least been given things.

" Apparently she hadn't." Marco said. " I remember seeing the pure happiness in her eyes when he handed her that flute…she's taken extremely good care of it ever since…it became her treasure."

" Treasure…" Ace whispered quietly, taking in those words.

" Most people consider treasure to be silver, gold or jewels…not Ai…and not the Captain."

" …how old was she when she joined the crew?"

" My guess was she was barely eight." Marco said. " Course she was really small even then so it was hard for us to tell. I don't even think she knows how old she is."

" What happened to her parents?"

" What happened to yours?" Ace tensed up nervously, glaring angrily over at the First Commander. " Don't dig into someone's past if you don't want others to do the same with you." Ace looked away angrily.

" If you want to know more about her then just ask her." Marco said, crossing his arms and staring ahead. " But don't come crying to me if she hits you so hard your freckles go flying off." Ace found himself flinching at the very thought of being hit that hard, knowing very well that she'd do it too.

" Why?"

" She doesn't like talking about her past." Marco said glancing over to Ai, noticing the girl was shivering. " Already? Quicker then normal." Reaching into a small chest beside the fan he pulled out a thick and heavy blanket.

" What's that for? It's hotter then the devil's ball sack out here." Ace asked watching Marco placing the blanket onto Ai and tucking it in around her.

" So? She's obviously freezing." Marco said returning to his chair. " She's been like this ever since Pops brought her onto the ship."

" Always?"

" She's never able to get warm. Thatch used to find her shivering in her bed or on deck, all day, everyday."

" I haven't noticed her doing that before now."

" She's gotten better at dealing with it as she grew older but if pay close enough attention you'll notice it." Ace found himself staring at the sleeping form of Ai, noticing the slight shivering that was she was still doing.

" Just get some rest, Ace." Marco said quietly. " I have a feeling that you're going to need it."


	8. Chapter 8

Ace blinked awake as the sun's morning light trailed over his face. He hadn't realized that he had fallen asleep to begin with but he at least felt refreshed. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes he began to stretch. He began massaging the back of his neck, looking around in a sort of daze, finally noticing what first looked like a soundly sleeping Ai. 'Still sleeping? Jeez, so lazy.' He thought. 'Though she is somewhat cute all curled up like that…and not talking.' It was then that he noticed that her shivering had turned into trembling. He found himself reaching a comforting hand towards her.

" I wouldn't do that if I were you." Ace haulted in his movement to look over to see Marco, who was currently watching him calmly. " She doesn't like to be touched while she's asleep. She tends to hit."

" She's trembling."

" She's having a nightmare." Marco said. " She does this almost every night. Back when Pops first found her and before we knew she was a Devil Fruit User the wind around the ship would always kick up, one time it almost sank the ship."

" So how do we stop her now?" Ace asked nervously, watching Marco pick up an oar and poking Ai with it. " Really?"

" I'd rather she break the oar then have her break my arm."

" She almost broke your arm?"

" When she was nineish." Marco said continuing to poke the girl. " Coooome on. Wakey, wakey, little sister!" Suddenly Ai swung her leg, hooking it around the oar and snapping it in half.

" Stop that." Ai snarled, almost demon like; the air around them starting to kick up.

" Calm down, Ai." Marco said. " I just wanted to let you know that we're less than an hour away." Ace looked ahead to see a small dot off in the distance, growing steadily larger as they moved along the ocean. To his left he saw Ai brush her long blue hair, fixing it into a braid. She started to remove her jacket when she caught Ace watching her. An annoyed expression flashed across her face before pulling jacket firmly back on.

" Pervert!" She muttered angrily making a vein throb angrily in Ace's temple.

" _I AM NOT_!"

" _THEN STOP STARING AT ME_!"

" _**WHY WOULD I EVER WANT TO STARE AT YOU**_?" Ace yelled back.

'Seriously,' Marco thought watching the two teens in annoyance. 'Those two just need to jump each others bones already and be done with it.'

" _**WHY WOULD I EVER BE ATTRACTED TO SOMEONE AS UNFEMININE AS YOU**_?"

" _WHY DON_ ' _T YOU JUST SHUT UP_ , _JACKASS_!"

" _**UNCUTE**_! _**UNFEMININE**_! _**AND DEFINITELY NOT ATTRACTIVE**_!" Ai and Marco both froze at the freckled teen's words. Marco had thought he noticed hurt flash through his sister's eyes but before he could confirm his theory anger flooded into the sea foam green orbs.

'Stupid, _moron_ …' Marco thought. ' …if there's one thing you never do it's telling a woman she's not pretty.'

" Then why don't you just look the other _**FUCKING WAY**_!" Ai went from a low demonic voice to a screeching harpy.

" Jeez, you're loud, I'm pretty sure my ear drums are going to start bleeding soon." Ace grumbled, covering his ears and leaning away from her.

" Why don't you both shut up!" Marco snapped finally, unable to contain his annoyance in anymore. " This is supposed to be a covert mission and if you two keep bitching at each other we'll blow our cover! Keep it up and I'm throwing you both in the ocean!" That managed to shut the teens up. Both began to pout, arms crossed angrily, neither one making eye contact with the other.

" Now…about the plan." Marco said, regaining his normal calm exterior.

Less than an hour later Ace found himself stepping onto the island's beach, helping Marco pull the boat ashore. Looking around curiously. The shoreline had the whitest sand he had ever seen. The air was so crisp and clean too. It had been like he had never smelled clean air before.

" Well, what's you're initial impression, Ai?" Marco asked the blunette.

" There's definitely people missing from the village, I can't smell them anymore…and some scents I don't recognize."

" Scents?" Ace asked curiously.

" To Ai, every person has their own distinct scent. It's something she gained from eating her devil fruit." Marco said as they began to venture into the forest.

" Oh…" Ace said, shoving his hands into his pockets. ' _Maybe she isn_ ' _t useless_.'

" Can you tell how many there are?"

" A few…" Ai said, her eyebrows furrowing. " I can't tell exactly how many."

" Well at least we know we won't need back-up." Marco sighed, running his hand through his mohawk. " We still need more info before we can do anything."

" If anything we can't stay here for long." Ai said coolly heading towards a path leading into the jungle. Marco grabbed Ace by the scruff of his shirt as he noticed the teen eyeing the boat intently and dragged him after Ai.

" Let's go! I'm not going to steal it!"

" I don't even want you looking at that boat! You'll end up breaking it somehow just by looking at it! Then I'll have to explain to Pops how I let Ai shove your head in the ocean and how she managed to get your underwear up over your head while they were still on your ass."

" What?"

" It's called an ultimate wedgie." Marco said coolly. " It's her ultimate technique."

" Are you serious."

" She did it to Vista once…" Ace was really trying to conjure the image of the large commander in such an embarrassing situation.

" So I'd rather not have to explain that to everyone as the way you died."

" That would kill me?"

" No, I'd have to kill you because there's no coming back from something so embarrassing." Ace felt himself pale at the thought, not sure if the first commander was joking or if he was serious.

" Will you two hens stop clucking, we are supposed to be quiet." Ai snapped from a few yards away. " Keep talking so much and we could alert any if not all look outs that could be posted on the island."

" Who died and made her boss." Ace grumbled angrily, glaring at the blunette. As they continued silently along the path Ace kept glaring angrily at Ai. How dare she accuse him of being a pervert. Him! Of all people! If there was one thing he wasn't it was a pervert!

' _Stupid woman_.' He thought to himself angrily. 'All because I noticed her taking off her jacket.' It's not like she was anything impressive. She was brash, loud, ditzy…and kind. The way she jumped in to help whenever she was needed. The way she would help clean the ship with the newest of crew members even though she was a commander. If one of them got hurt she'd drop whatever she doing to tend to them and get them to the infirmary.

She did care a lot about her crew mates…or her brothers as she called them. His face softened as he remembered his own brothers, the little brother he had left back at Foosha Village and the brother that he had lost at sea. He found himself staring at her once again, taking in the graceful way she moved. As if she was gliding on the very wind itself. Noticing in particular the way her hips swayed.

" Keep staring at her like that and I may have to stab you." Ace jumped at the sound of Marco's voice in his ear. He felt his face growing hot as he glared over at Marco.

" What are you talking about?"

" Don't try to act all innocent. I saw that lecherous look on your face as you eye my baby sister like a fox eyes the rabbit he's gonna have for lunch."

" I WAS NOT!" Ace protested angrily storming ahead of him, not paying attention to where he was heading.

" Ace, maybe you sh-"

" SHUT UP, MARC _OOO_!" Ace felt himself trip over Ai who had bent down to examine something along the path, causing a suspiciously girly squeak of surprise came from the blunette.

" _**GYAH**_!"

Just as they landed on the ground they felt it give way and they sank beneath it. Ace pulled Ai protectively against him, cushioning her as they hit the bottom of the pit. Pain rushed through Ace's head as it bounced off the ground.

" Ouch!" Ai whined softly as the wind was knocked suddenly out of her.

" Are you two okay down there?" Marco asked, looking down at them.

" _SHIT_! _WHAT SHIT HEAD PUTS A PIT IN THE MIDDLE OF A PATH_?" Ace yelled angrily, his vision slightly blurry. As the words left his mouth he remembered the several times when he was a child that he would build traps like this to catch his dinner. He was just thankful that whoever had made this pit hadn't put sharpened spikes at the bottom.

" Ouch…" Ace heard Ai mutter softly again.

" Are you alright?" Ace asked.

" I'm fine…watch where you're going from now on." Ai said sitting up and rubbing the side of her head. Ace had noticed suddenly how close they were and that she was now sitting on his lap. " Are you okay, though? Did you hit your head?"

" I-I-I-I-" Ace began to stutter as Ai leaned forward to examine him for injuries. Suddenly her breasts were just inches away from his face. He tensed as she ran her fingers gently through his hair checking for any signs of injury.

" You didn't hit your head did you?" Ai asked concern evident in her voice, no hint of the previous anger that Ace could detect. He was even more aware of how his earlier statement of her being unattractive was incorrect. She had the softest looking skin he had ever seen, the exact color of fresh cream. He was aware of every curve of her body, of every slight movement she made…he even was aware of her scent. Fresh Peaches. He was hoping she wasn't aware of what she was doing to him.

" Since when do you wear your dagger in the front?" Ai asked suddenly causing heat to flare up in his cheeks.

" Th-That isn't my dagger."

" It's obviously not your belt buckle!" Ai said. " So it has to be your dagger."

" Just stop talking!" Ace yelled, hearing his voice crack slightly. They both jumped suddenly as they heard scuffling and shouting from above.

" What the?" Ai said hurriedly. " Marco! What's going on."

 _ **WHACK**_!

 _ **POW**_!

 _ **SMACK**_!

Ace heard crying suddenly along with Marco lecturing whoever was up there.

" _**MARCO**_!" Ai yelled becoming annoyed. The first commander poked his head over the side of the pit, his normal bored expression plastered across his face. " What the hell is going on up there?"

" Nothing serious, kiddo." Ai felt a vein throbbing in her temple at her nickname. " Just some unruly brats that talked a big game."

" Brats!" Ai said hurriedly feeling her heart skip a beat. She turned to get a better look up at her brother, hearing Ace give a low groan. " Marco! What kids?" Marco lifted a squirming boy around the age of nine who was tied up, a large lump on his head. He had short leaf green hair and sky blue eyes.

" _**JAMESON**_!" Ai squeaked in surprise. " _MARCO_ , _**UNTIE HIM RIGHT NOW**_!"

" _**NEE**_ - _ **CHAN**_!" The boy gasped in surprise. " _**WHAT ARE YOU DOING DOWN THERE**_?" Marco raised an eyebrow looking from Ai to the boy and back to Ai. His eyebrow raised even higher when he noticed the position the teens were in and the flush in Ace's cheeks.

" Should we give you two some alone time?" Anger flashed into Ace's face.

" _SHUT UP_ , _**JACKASS**_!"


	9. Chapter 9

" _**NEE**_ - _ **CHAN**_!" A small girl with curly lavender colored hair hugged Ai tightly, sobbing into her arms. She looked to be around five.

" Shhh, Mira." Ai said soothingly, rocking the girl gently in her arms. " It's alright."

" _Nee_ - _chan_!" Jameson yelled hugging Ai's leg happily. " _**You**_ ' _ **re back**_!"

" Yes, yes, I'm back!" Ai said laughing.

" Could someone please untie me!" A girl with red haired pulled up into pig tails yelled kicking her feet angrily.

" Calm down, brat." Marco said crouching down to untie the girl.

 _ **WHAM**_!

" _**NEE**_ - _ **CHAN**_!" The girl yelled rushing to Ai after punching Marco in the family jewels. Hugging the blunette tightly the girl spat her tongue out at the first commander who had fallen over, cupping himself in pain.

" Who would have thought that Marco the Phoenix could be beaten by a ten year old." Ai sassed, enjoying the looking of shock on her older brother's normally calm face.

" Shut up, pipsqueak." Marco groaned loudly, glaring at the red-head. " Just wait 'till I recover kid, cause it's going to be you and me! You and me!" The red-head spat her tongue out at him, making a huge vein in his temple pulsate. " Brat!" Ace coughed back a laugh at the sight.

" Jasmine, that wasn't very nice." Ai said patting the red-head on the head. " You need to apologize to Marco."

" Sorry, Pineapple Head!" Ace busted out laughing so hard he clutched his sides, doubling over. Ai blinked in surprise at the freckled teen. This was the first time she had seen him so relaxed. She liked it…she also like his nice laugh. 'He should laugh more often.' She thought gently a smile forming on her face.

" His name is Marco, Jasmine." Ai said. " You need to call him by his name, okay."

" Who's that?" Jameson asked, eyeing Ace suspiciously.

" That's Ace, he's a newest member of our crew." Ai said smiling down at the boy. The boy locked eyes with Ace and glared daggers at him, hugging Ai protectively.

" What are you kids doing so far outside the village?" Ai asked snuggling Mira comfortingly.

" The village is scary now!" Mira whined sadly.

" What? Why?" Ai asked hurriedly.

" There are scary men there!" Mira sniffled, hiding her face. Ace watched the little girl in Ai's arms, she reminded him of his younger brother Luffy when he was about that age. He would cry all the time at that age.

" What are the scary men doing in the village, sweetie?" Ai asked softly.

" They took over it!" Jameson said hurriedly. " They killed the mayor and the butcher!"

" Malikai and Boulder are gone?" Ai gasped, a rush of emotions flooded into her at the knowledge. The two men had always been kind to her whenever she had come to the village.

" They were the ones that stood up against the bad men when they came!" Jasmine said sadly. " After that people in the village started to disappear slowly. They even came to The Home but Oracle and Jonas scared them away!" Ai sighed in relief at that. She knew those two wouldn't allow any harm to come to the kids at The Home.

" Well now," Marco said regaining some of his usual composure, leaning onto Ace for support. " Now we need to find out exactly who they are and what they're doing here."

" They're slavers obviously." Ai said angrily, tightening her hold on the children.

" This could be true but they could also be pirates. Pops will want to know who exactly is responsible for this. If they are working by themselves or if they have a boss. If they have a boss is he hear on the island or is he somewhere else. How strong is he?"

Ace watched Marco in amazement. The man was a genius when it came to planning. He was glad that he had come along, from the angry look on Ai's face she could have gotten them both killed.

" You're right…" Ai said coolly. " I need to stop by The Home and check on things there. See if Oracle and Jonas need anything there. They could probably give us more info on what's going on around here."

" True." Marco said finally able to stand up straight.

" Come on, kids." Ai said smiling at the children. " We're going to go see Oracle and Jonas."

" But! It's scary there!" Mira whined fearfully. " The bad men!"

" We won't go through the village, I know a back way."

" No!" Jasmine yelled fear spreading through her eyes. " We can't go that way!"

" It's fine, kids." Ai said softly, crouching beside them. " I'll be with you guys, I won't let those demons get you."

" Demons?" Ace said curiously.

" The scary ones that live in the cave!" Mira said fearfully in her soft baby voice, her lavender eyes wide and filled with tears.

" A long time ago they kidnapped a little girl that lived on the island! They spirited her away and ate her!" Jasmine said hugging Jameson to her.

" Like I said I won't let anyone hurt you." Ai said comfortingly. " I promise, I won't let any harm come to you." The three children looked between the pirates nervously before nodding finally in agreement.

Ai walked through the damp forest quietly, holding Mira close to her with one arm and holding Jameson's hand with the other. She looked around calmly, taking in the beautifully colored folliage surrounding them. She loved the jungle here, it was always so peaceful.

" There aren't any monkeys here are there?" Ai glanced back at Ace who had his hands shoved into his pockets, eyeing the jungle nervously.

" Probably, why?"

" Monkeys are assholes."

" _**LANGUAGE**_!" Ai snapped back at him angrily. " There are children here!"

" So?"

" Don't use that kind of language in-front of them!" Ai snapped.

" Yeah!" Jasmine said, sass evident in her voice. " We're impressionable!"

" Uh-huh…" Ace said unimpressed.

" No swearing in-front of children!" Ai said readjusting Mira in her arms. Ace watched her coolly. She looked natural and so relaxed with the children. Ace suddenly became uncomfortable. He himself had never had someone so nurturing when he was around that age. He was grateful to Curly Dadan for raising him and his brothers as one of her own but she had never been as nurturing as Ai was being now.

For Ai to lecturing him about his language in-front of children was odd. Even at their age he spoke like this so he didn't really know what her problem was. She sounded like…like Makino. He sighed at the memory of the green haired bar tender. She had always been kind to him and his brothers. She had even taught him how to be polite…well she taught him manners. It wasn't her fault that he would forget to be polite at times. She tried her best.

" Nee-chan," Mira's baby voice pulled Ace out of his thoughts. He noticed the small girl staring at him, her round lavender eyes were wide with curiosity. " He's silly!"

" He is silly, isn't he!" Ai said snuggling the girl closer. Ace felt heat flood his face as Ai and the girls giggled.

'Stupid woman.' He thought to himself.

" Monkeys are mean!" Jasmine said cutely. " They steal food and throw poop!"

" She's not wrong." Ace said coolly.

" You be quiet!" Ai said grumpily. " Bad influence!"

" I am not!"

" Will you two shut up." Marco said. " You two argue like children more then the actual children here." The teens huffed in disagreement.

" Mr Pineapple Head is funny!" Mira giggled

" My name is Marco."

" Whatever." Jameson said eyeing the surrounding jungle cautiously. " Can we go, Nee-chan?"

" Of course." Ai said running her hand comfortingly through his hair. Ace noticed the blunette herself becoming uncomfortable, becoming tense, pulling the children closer to her. He watched her eyes dart around the jungle quickly.

Ai bit her lip nervously as she recognized this particular area of the jungle. She felt her heart beat quicken immediately. An image of a small girl wearing torn clothing and covered in dirt hiding under the foliage.

Shaking the image from her mind Ai continued down the path, unaware of the dark haired teen's eyes on her. " So when was the last time you were here, Ai?" Marco asked breaking the girl out of her thoughts.

" I stopped by here before I came back from that last mission Pops sent me on." Ai said.

" Nee-chan! I wanna come back with you!" Jameson said. " I wanna be a pirate!" Ace had a sudden flashback to when he was around this kids age with his brother Sabo, before Luffy had come to their home.

" I told you Jameson," Ai said, kneeling beside him. " It isn't safe for you on the seas at your age."

" It isn't exactly safe here right now." Jameson pouted.

" I know," Ai said, her eyes softening. " I'm here to make sure you all are safe." Jameson eyed her with uncertainty. " I can't have anyone hurting my sweet little brothers and sisters."

Mira started crying suddenly, spotting a small opening to cave. " Mira, don't cry!" Jasmine said hurriedly. " Nee-chan is here! She's not going to let the demons get us!"

" That's right!" Ai said unnaturally happily. " No demons are going to get you!" Mira still whimpered fearfully the closer they got.

" So what's this legend about?" Ace asked.

" I don't really want to talk about it right now." Ai said stiffly. " Maybe later." Ace noticed how stiff the kids were as they past the cave, he also saw several signs with warnings posted around the trail adding more and more to his curiosity.

Once they were a good way away Ace saw the children become more relaxed and suddenly the smallest, Mira, became more talkative.

" Mr. Pineapple Head, why does your head look like that?"

" My name is Marco and I don't have no idea what you're talking about."

" It's funny!" Mira said happily. Ace snickered at the annoyed expression on Marco's face. It made his day to see how annoyed the First Commander was. It felt like justice was being served after all the torment he had received from him.

" Mr Freckled Man!" Mira said suddenly addressing him.

" Are you talking about me?"

" Yeah! You're Mr Freckled Man!" Mira said happily.

" Oooookay…"

" Are you Nee-chan's boyfriend?" Ace stumbled at the girl's question. His face flashed red and he began stuttering. Ai stared in confusion between Mira and Ace.

" _N_ - _N_ - _NO_!"

" Why not?"

" Why would I be!"

" Because if you were then you two could get married and have babies!" Ai's face now went as red as Ace's at the girl's words

" Yeah Ace," Marco said an evil grin on his face. " If you marry Ai you two would have babies!"

" Shut up, asshat."

" _**LANGUAGE**_!"


	10. Chapter 10

" I'm glad to see you safe and sound, Ai." A slender man with shaggy dark purple hair said ushering up to thirteen small children ranging in ages from twelve to three months away from the blunette. " I was worried if you decided to come here whether or not you'd make it here safely."

" It wasn't so hard getting here, we didn't see anyone other then a certain trio of misfits along the way." Ai said ruffling the heads of several children.

" Nee-chan!" A small green haired girl said hugging Ai's leg happily. Ace watched with interest as the kids continued to swarm around Ai. It seemed so natural to see her with those kids.

" Did you bring us anything?" A little boy with shaggy blonde hair asked excitedly.

" I brought you the awesomeness of me!" Ai said happily.

" Sooo…no presents…?" The boy asked causing a vein to throb in Ai's temple.

" No…no presents." Ai said causing the kids to sighs in disbelief.

" Now kids, you shouldn't expect presents every time Ai comes and visits." The purple haired man said smiling down at the kids. " You should be happy that she's here safe to see all of you, especially with what's been going on lately." The kids nodded sadly in agreement.

" Don't listen to Jonas, kids!" Ai said happily. " I'll bring you guys something next time I come, okay?" At those words the children cheered eagerly

 _ **KNOCK**_! _**KNOCK**_!

" Could you get that, Mr. Orange Hat?" Jonas said going into the kitchen.

" Some real creative minds here for coming up with nicknames." Ace said walking to the door. " Real geniuses." Opening the door he revealed a short teen girl with long black hair standing there. He froze dead in his tracks at the sight of her. She looked exactly like Ai. Her hair was the same length, she has the same body build, same blue eyes, same cheek bones, same nose…same body build. Except certain _areas_ were slightly smaller then her's. She was also dressed in a simple pale pink dress; small diamond earrings, one in each ear and a slightly larger sized diamond necklace.

" IS JONAS HERE?" The girl asked fearfully.

" Ceras?" Ai said spotting the frightened girl. " What's wrong?"

" AI!" The girl yelled rushing past Ace to the blunette hugging her tightly.

" Ceras sweetie, what is it?" Ai asked comfortingly. Ace thought it was oddly attractive seeing two girls with the same face hugging on each other.

" It Holland's group!" Ceras cried fearfully. " They're attacking the manor!"

" _ **WHAT**_?" Jonas yelled from the kitchen, walking out with a large carving knife. " _**WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY**_ ' _ **RE ATTACKING THE MANOR**_!"

" THEY CAME LOOKING FOR ME AND HAROLD TOLD THEM TO SHOVE IT! HE SLAMMED THE DOOR ON THEM AND MADE ME RUN AND HIDE!"

" Whelp, sounds like it's time to get to work, kids." Marco said making the black haired girl jump.

" _A PIRATE_!" She squeaked nervously.

" _OH HEAVENS NO_!" Marco said in a high girly voice. " _WHO_ ' _D HAVE THOUGHT_! _AI IS HERE WITH PIRATES_! _EVEN THOUGH SHE IS ONE HERSELF_."

" Shut up, Marco." Ai said chucking a pillow at him. " Technically there's three pirates here." She nodded to Ace. Ace suddenly felt uncomfortable as Ceras eyed him curiously. Feeling as if she had undressed him with her eyes and had her way with him.

" _Both_ are pirates?" She asked curiously.

" That's what she said." Marco said watching the look Ceras was giving Ace, an annoyed expression on his own face.

" Can we get back to the fact that you were attacked?" Jonas said angrily.

" They wanted me to Holland!" Cerys said worriedly.

" Why would they want that?" Marco asked.

" Cause Lady Ceras is a dragon!" Jameson said excitedly.

" A dragon?" Ace asked curiously, eyeing the dark haired girl. Ceras blushed in embarrassment. Ace also noticed Marco tense up suddenly.

" Not a real one, of course." She said shyly.

" Obviously," Ace said crossing his arms. " Dragons aren't real."

" Are you a…Celestial Dragon?" Marco asked, watching Ai out of the corner of his eye.

" Oh dear, no!" Ceras said hurriedly, her face becoming pale.

" Then what do you mean?" Marco asked not relaxing at all.

" There's a legend in this archipelago of dragons terrorizing the native people that lived here for centuries." Jonas said coolly, making Ceras sit down and began examining her for apparent injuries. " The people here all lived in terror; fearing their homes would be destroyed and loved ones burned to death and eaten. Then around four hundred years ago men came from virtually no where sand slew the dragons. They became the heads of the villages in this archipelago."

" And Lady Ceras is their last remaining dependent!" Jasmine said excitedly. " She's a dragon!"

" Wouldn't she technically be a dragon slayer?" Ace pointed out.

" Technically my surname is Dragon." Cerys said smiling down at the children. " That was my family's name from before they came here and before they ever had anything to do with the dragons."

" Ceras Dragon!" Jameson said grinning from ear to ear, kicking his feet cheerfully.

" So why do these men want you exactly?" Marco asked.

" My family is the wealthiest in the island chain," Ceras said, " and marrying me would give them direct power over them, seeing as my immediate family are the direct descendants of the leader of the dragon slayers."

" But this village used to have a mayor in charge of it." Ace said.

" around twenty-seven years ago Ceras' grandfather decided the people should be allowed to chose their own leader." Jonas said lifting Mira up into his arms. " However if the current mayor dies before a replacement has been decided the head of the Dragon Family, which currently is Ceras, will be left in-charge until a replacement has been decided."

" They think if Holland marries me then he'll gain control of the village and be able to do whatever he wants." Ceras sighed.

" What about the missing people?" Ai asked. " What do you all know about that?"

" People started disappearing shortly after their arrival." Jonas said. " At first it was maybe one or two people at a time but now it's several people from around the island chain are disappearing per week."

" Per week!" Ai yelled. " Why did you all wait so long to contact us?"

" Malikai wanted to handle this on our own." Jonas said. " He didn't want us to rely solely on you or Whitebeard. True that we are under your protection but we do have our pride."

" And your pride has gotten several people missing or dead." Ace pointed out.

" Ace, shut up!" Ai snapped.

" Just pointing out the obvious."

" If it's obvious then it doesn't need pointed out!"

" No one asked for your opinion on the matter, dwarf!"

" Shut up, jerk-face!"

" Jerk-face? Your insults are starting to slip, dwarf."

" Shut up!"

" Are those two a thing?" Jonas asked Marco quietly.

" They might as well be, they argue like an old married couple already." Marco replied coolly. " What I can't get over is how much Ai resembles that Ceras girl."

" What are you talking about?"

" What are you serious?" Marco asked raising an eyebrow. " The two of them could be twins." Jonas stared at Marco before looking between the two girls hurriedly. Marco saw the light bulb go off in the purple haired man's head as realization hit him.

" I can't believe I've never noticed it before."

" Serious…you never noticed it? How?" Marco asked. " She is always doing patrols of the Second Division's territories all the time, she must have spent some time here. Plus the two of them seem familiar with each other so they must have spent time around each other. How did you not notice it?" " I don't know…Ceras is so refined and lady-like and Ai is so-"

" Not?" Marco said eyebrow raised. He noticed Jonas suddenly becoming uncomfortable. " Don't worry, her up bringing wasn't the best for her to become a _lady_."

" My apologies…I know she hasn't had it easy."

" You don't know the half of it." Marco said watching the blunette before him. Memories of his captain returning to the Moby Dick with the smallest blue haired little girl he had ever seen curled up in his arms trembling. It was raining that day, the little girl had been covered in blood, dirt and ash, her eyes wide in fear. He didn't understand what his captain had been thinking bringing such a small child onto the ship.

Not that he now ever wished she had ever wanted her gone but he had often wondered how his captain had known what kind of spirit and determination that child would have. Marco sighed, a smile forming on his face. He knew one thing though, his father was never wrong when it came to judging a person. Ai had grown much since he met her at the age of eight and he knew she was still growing…if not physically then emotionally. She still had a long way to go still but he would support her no matter what. She was his little sister after all, it was his job as a big brother to protect her.

Not that she wanted his protection. Ai was always so stubborn. He knew that she was always afraid of someone thinking of her as a nuisance and wanting her gone. She was always afraid that she'd turn be sent away for being a burden so that is why she always did jobs by herself. She never wanted to involve anyone in dangerous jobs.

Marco would always become angry with Ai whenever she would return from said jobs injured. Thatch and Izo would always mother hen her, dragging her immediately to the infirmary. There were times he wished she would have stayed in one of the many homes they had tried to leave her at when she was small. That way she would have been safe, knowing a loving mother and father's touch.

" She's always missed out on so many things." Marco said quietly.

" She's grown quite strong willed though." Jonas said coolly watching the continued argument between Ai and Ace. " Are they ever going to stop arguing?"

" More then likely not." Marco said. " She's so loud and boisterous now it's hard to believe there was a time when she didn't speak at all." His eyes seemed to glaze over at the memory of a scared little girl who hid from everyone but the captain.

She would cry and tremble if anyone other than Pops came near her. Marco didn't even know what her name was for the first few months she lived with them. He often just referred to her as the kid…that was until one day her heard the cutest baby voice say: That's not my name.

Thatch and Izo had instantly become attached to her. Hugging her tightly whenever they saw her. And on days where she was suddenly depressed she would sit quietly by herself. Thatch would always come up to her on those days and lift her up, cuddling her close. He somehow felt envious of Thatch being able to be so close to her so quickly. It had taken him several months to be able to get near her without her crying.

Seeing her now, so happy and full of energy made it all worth it though. Though there were days he wished she be quiet.

" But seriously." Marco said shaking his head, clearing his mind of his memories. " How did you not noticed the resemblance. It's like they could be related."

" I find that hard to believe." Jonas said. " I've known lady Ceras since her birth and she's been an only child. Even her uncle, her late father's only sibling, never had a child of his own." Jonas stared at Ai with new interest. " But now that you mention it, they do resemble each other."

A plotting smirk appeared across Marco's face. " I believe I have a plan."


	11. Chapter 11

" Stupid Marco." Ai mumbled angrily. " I don't get what's going on in that stupid orange head of his." Her brother had made her swap clothes with Lady Ceras, spouting some nonsense about how the two were identical and how Ai could be her body double. Now she was trying to zip up the back of Ceras' dress.

" Stupid Marco!" She grumbled again becoming more and more angry with each passing second. " Stupid Jonas! _**STUPID DRESS**_!"

" You look like a moron right now." Ai jumped at the sound of Ace's voice. She turned to see him staring at her from the doorway, an amused smirk on his face.

" What do you want, jackass."

" Language." Ace's smirk grew wider as he saw the vein in Ai's temple begin to throb.

" Fuck you."

" Sorry dwarf, you aren't my type." Ace said cheekily. " I like my women to have at least hit puberty." The vein grew bigger.

" Shut up, jackass! I have too hit puberty!" Ace walked over to her and lifted his hand slightly above her head.

" If you aren't at least this tall, you can't ride me." Red flooded Ai's face quickly and she began to stutter.

" What's wrong, dwarf?" Ace grinned evilly. " Cat got your tongue?"

" _YOU_ ' _RE A PERVERT_!" Ai yelled back at him. " _WHO WOULD EVER WANT TO DO THAT WITH YOU_!" Turning her back to him she once again not realizing that he could see the mark on her back. " Stupid zipper!"

Sighing Ace reached over and zipped up the dress. As he did he not only saw the mark on her back but several deep looking scars. He felt his fists clench quickly just as he saw her tense suddenly. " What are you doing!" She demanded angrily whirling on him.

" I don't know what that mark is but I know you don't want others seeing it." He said coolly. " Seeing how pathetic you are at trying to zip up a simple dress by the time it took you to actually get it zipped the whole island would have had a chance to see it." Ai looked away angrily but not before Ace saw a hint of fear in her eyes. " I'm not going to badger you about it, but you need to be more careful if you don't want others to find out about it." He saw her fists clench tightly at his words.

Before he could stop himself his hand had found its way up to her hair, catching a lock of it between his fingers. He was amazed at how soft it was. Running it easily across his skin he had to stop himself from burying his hand completely into her soft blue hair. He was so close to her now he could catch the scent of peaches again.

" What are you doing…?" Ai asked quietly causing Ace to drop his hand quickly.

" Nothing…" Ace said coolly, he noticed she hadn't turned to look at him yet. He couldn't tell if she was still angry at him for commenting on her mark again. " That dress is to tight on you by the way."

" No one asked for your opinion." Ai said stiffly.

" True, but that dress makes you look fat." That got a reaction out of her.

" _**JACKASS**_!" She yelled angrily, spinning around to deliver a stealthily aimed kick to his head. However, she wasn't used to wearing a dress and Ace was right, it was to tight on her. When she attack him in it her chest felt tight, so tight she could barely breath. Ace caught her foot easily a smirk appearing on his face.

" Seriously, you're going to get yourself killed if this is the best you can move in that dress." Ace said cooly. He was right that the dress was tight on her but it didn't make her fat, he just loved to mess with her. She wasn't fat at all, as a matter of fact the dress clung to every curve of her body snuggly. It was all he could do to stop himself from snaking his arm around her waist and running his hands up and down her body.

" Shut up, I'll be fine!" Ai said hurriedly. " Once again, no one asked for your opinion, flame brain!"

" Don't be stupid." Ace said his face hardening. " You're going to get yourself killed. You have no idea how to behave like Ceras or even walk like her. She's a proper lady and you are not." Ai tensed at his words, she didn't understand why they hurt her so much but they did. It was like he had stabbed her straight in the chest.

" If you're so enchanted by her then go and be with her!" Ai yelled shoving him out of her room and slamming the door in his face.

" I don't know what you did," Marco said appearing behind the dark haired teen. " But if you keep pissing her off she's going to kill you in the most embarrassing way possible."

" She could barely even walk in that dress let alone fight in it." Ace said his fists clenched angrily. " Your plan could get her killed."

" She won't die." Marco said. " She's to stubborn to die. She's to stubborn to let a dress beat her." He watched as Ace's fists clench tighter. " I realize now that maybe I should have let Izo dress her up in dresses when she was growing up but she didn't like them so I didn't let them. It doesn't matter to me or any of my brothers that she isn't a proper lady, she's our sister and we don't want her to be someone she's not."

Ace glared over at him. " This plan of your's is going to backfire. It's going to end badly. She's going to get hurt."

" Not if you help us." Marco said. " Ai feels she constantly needs to prove herself and she doesn't. Not to me or my brothers or our father. It took her a long time to get over the fear and pain that she came to our ship with…but ever since she met you I've seen it slowly return to her eyes."

" She's not afraid of me."

" She's afraid of uncertainty…of the unknown that you represent." Marco said. " Whether either of you realize it or not, you've changed each other's lives the moment you met."

" Lady Ceras," Mira said cutely to the dark haired girl. The child stared shyly up at her, unsure whether she should ask her question. " Are you and Nee-chan sisters?" Since Ai had taken her dress, Ceras had since changed into a soft blue rob that Jonas had lent her.

" No little one," Ceras kneeling beside her. " I don't have any siblings."

" Maybe if you ask Nee-chan then she'll be your sister." Mira said innocently. " She's a good big sister!"

" I don't doubt she is." Ceras said patting the small girl on the head. In truth she was envious of the female pirate. She had so many wonderful in her life that truly loved her. She had a life filled with adventure and danger. All Ceras had was a large empty house filled with painful memories.

Her father hadn't been the warmest of people, in fact Ceras believed he didn't even really like her or want her. Her mother had died when she was still a baby so she didn't even remember her. The one kind family member she remembered was her father's twin brother, Alduin. He had died shortly before her fourth birthday.

After that she had been left all alone with her mad father. The staff had tried to be there for her but often times they were to afraid of her father being cruel to them for being friendly with her. They were beneath her after all.

After her father died she had been alone again. The villagers were afraid of her too. Afraid that she had inherited the same madness as her father. They were also to afraid to find out for themselves. All except Jonas and Oracle. The two of them were the only ones outside the household servants that weren't afraid of her.

Now she also has the children that Jonas cared for. They weren't afraid of her at all…course, now that Ai's pirate friend pointed out how much she and the female pirate resembled each other that could have been why they weren't afraid of her. It didn't matter though, she was grateful for their presence regardless.

Movement at the doorway caught her attention. She glanced up to see Ace walking into the room. That boy was definitely a fine specimen. Ceras couldn't take her eyes off of him, admiring how his muscles rippled flawlessly with each movement. She found her eyes roving hungrily over him. A smile came across her face as she glanced over his eight pack abs, trailing her eyes down lower and lower finally spying the ' _V_ ' underneath his navel. Oh the things she wanted to do to that man. " How's it going in there?" She finally was able to ask him.

" She's like a damn bull in a china cabinet." He muttered. " No way in hell she'll be able to pull this off."

" You don't have much faith in her."

" If you'd seen her trying to squeeze into that dress of yours you'd agree with me." Ace said grumpily, flopping down at the table across from her. " Freaking sad. She's going to blunder the crap out of this."

" I don't think so." Ceras said kindly. " From what I've seen of Miss Ai, once she sets her mind to something she'll do it." Ace scoffed at her words, making Ceras become curious.

" Is there something going on between you and Ai?"

" Other than complete annoyance to one another's existence."

" No…that's not what I meant." Ceras said.

" Then I have no idea what you're talking about."

" Mr Freckle Man is Nee-chan's boyfriend!" Ace jumped at the soft baby voice beside him. He looked down to see Mira smiling up at him. " He and Nee-chan are gonna get married and have cute babies!"

" We are not!" Ace said, face redding quickly.

" Yeah-huh!" Mira said excitedly. " Jonas and Mr Pineapple Head Man said so!"

" Don't listen to them!" Ace said hurriedly. " They have no idea what they're-" Ceras coughed quickly getting his attention. Shaking her head, Ceras gave him a Don't-Pop-The-Kid's-Imagination-Bubble look. Ace decided to not even bother arguing with her.

" Now Mira, if Mr Ace and Miss Ai do get married it won't be for a long while." Ceras said smiling gently over at the little girl. Disappointment seemed to fall over the child's face.

" So I don't get to be an aunty yet."

" No, not yet, Mira." Ceras said hugging the girl. " But you're a big sister! And that's just as important."

" Really?"

" Yes it is!" Ceras said. " It's your job to make sure other people treat your little brothers and sisters nicely and if they aren't then you have to stand up for them. Just like Jasmine and Jameson do for you! You also have to set a good example for them. Always do what Jonas and Oracle tell you, clean your room and eat all your vegetables."

" Carrots are icky!" Ace snorted back laughter at the little girl's bluntness, completely bypassing the whole point of Ceras' words.

" Carrots are delicious and good for your eyes! Always eat plenty of them." Ai's voice said hurriedly as she walked into the room. Ace's eyes widened at the sight of her. Ceras' dress hung snuggly against her body, accentuating her breasts, waist and buttocks. Jonas had managed to put make-up on her as well. Mascara and eyeliner highlighted her seafoam green eyes. She had a soft pink blush to her cheeks. She even had a small amount of rosy pinkness to her lips…and her hair. Her normal baby blue curls were hidden up under a black wig.

Looking at her now, she really could have been Ceras' twin. " What do you guys think?" Jonas said smirking from behind her. " Cleans up pretty nice, doesn't she?"

" My goodness, Ai!" Ceras said excitedly. " It's like I'm looking in a mirror!" Ai smiled in embarrassment, her cheeks becoming more pink at the moment.

" Come on, give them a look see!" Jonas said, spinning his finger, gestering for her to turn around. Ai did her best to not fall over in Ceras' heels and she made it half way through the turn when she stumbled, falling backwards.

" EEP!" A girlish squeak escaped her lips suddenly, expecting to hit the ground. Maybe Ace was right, maybe Marco's idea was stupid. Within the first five minutes of her just walking in normal girl's shoes she had messed up. She blinked in surprise how when she hadn't hit the floor when she felt two strong arms wrap firmly around her waist and bringing her securely against well muscled chest.

" I told you you're gonna fail epically at this." Ace's amused voice said. Ai's eyes widened more. Of all the people to see her stumble it had to be him…he was never going to let her live this down. " If you're going to do this you're going to have to practice more."

" There's not going to be enough time for that." Marco said looking out the window, eyes narrowing seriously. " It would appear we have company."


	12. Chapter 12

Author: This chapter took me a while to get right, it's got a flashback in it & i love flashbacks! Hope you all like it too!

" Mira," Jonas said lifting a large carving in one hand. " Take Ceras and your brothers and sisters and go hide somewhere safe."

" But-"

" Come on, little one." Ceras said as she scooped the purple haired girl into her arms, ushering to a few other remaining children. " Remember what I said earlier, we have to keep your other siblings safe."

" But what about Nee-chan and Jonas?"

" We'll be fine, Mira." Jonas said smiling comfortingly down at her. " Now hurry and take everyone to your best hiding spot alright? We'll come for you once it's safe."

" Nee-chan, be careful!" Mira said worriedly, watching the group over Ceras' shoulder as the left through the back door.

" Of course I will." Ai said smiling happily as she watched the group retreated.

 _ **BANG**_!

Ai looked up to see the door fling open as a group of several men walked inside. " Well so this is where you've been hiding, Ceras." A tall dark skinned man with a shaven head said calmly. " And just who are these people, I've never seen them in the village before."

" That's because you bastards never pay much attention to anyone in this village unless it's to rape them or sell them." Jonas snapped. " What do you want Elric?"

" Now, now." The man said. " We just came by to visit little Ceras there. See if there's anything we can do to get her to marry Holland."

" And if she doesn't want to marry him?" James asked angrily.

" Oh she will marry our boss."

" No, she won't." Ace said abruptly, tightening his hold around Ai.

" Who care what you think, boy?" The man snapped.

" How can she marry someone else when she's already married to someone?" Ace grinned at the confused looks on the men's faces as he tilted Ai's face upwards towards his. " Sorry I kept you waiting, dear."

" _What are you doing_!" Ai muttered angrily as heat flooded her face.

" _Just play along_." Ace grinned teasingly, before ducking his head down and capturing her lips. His grin grew wider as he felt her tense up against him. ' _Play along_ , _stupid_.' He thought wrapping his arm securely around the small of her waist.

Ai tensed quickly as Ace pressed his warm lips against hers. It was demanding and gentle at the same time. She felt her body strangely start to relax against him as he pulled her securely against him.

Ace pulled his head back slightly, licking his lips and smirking down at the small blunette in his arms. She had a sort of glaze in her eyes and the red hint flooded into her cheeks. " So as you can see, I can't allow you to take my woman."

" Tch, you think we're going to let a scrawny shit like you get in our boss's way." The bald man growled striding forward and grabbing Ai's arm, pulling her away from Ace.

 _ **WHAM**_!

Ace slammed a flaming foot forcefully into the man's face. " I told you, she's mine…" Ace growled as the man flew backwards through the door he had entered earlier. " Keep your fucking hands off her!"

" _**DALTON**_!" The other men yelled.

" You bastard!" One yelled pulling the bald man up. " We won't forget this!" He yelled as the group ran off.

" Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Ace said angrily slamming the door angrily. He turned to see Ai staring at him, wide eyed, the same red tint to her cheeks. " Why are you standing there with that stupid look on your face?"

" What stupid look?"

" The one that's currently on your face right now."

" You mean the look of shock?"

" Whatever you want to call it, it looks stupid on your face." Ace said crossing his arms angrily. " You didn't think that kiss meant anything did you?"

" Of course not!" Ai said hurriedly, her face reddening even more.

" Because it was a shitty kiss." Ace said. " Which is a good thing too because you suck at it. I pity the guy that ends up having to deal with your shitty kissing for the rest of his life."

 _ **SLAP**_!

Ace blinked in surprise as Ai slapped him hard across the face. " If you don't like kissing me _**THEN DON**_ ' _ **T EVER FUCKING DO IT AGAIN**_ , _**JACKASS**_!" She yelled before storming out of the house angrily.

" Are you sure those two aren't together?" Jonas asked Marcus.

" No, they're both to stupid to admit they like each other."

" Obviously they are both in utter denial."

" You know I can hear you two."

" Good, I thought she had hit you so hard you'd lost your hearing along with your common sense." Marco said in annoyance.

" What are you talking about?" Ace asked rubbing his cheek soothingly.

" Are you seriously this stupid?" Marco asked raising a eyebrow.

" What are you talking about?" Ace asked again.

" You don't say the things you say to women without expecting to get hit a few times." Marco said. " You both need to get over whatever little childish fit you are having and move on. If not one or both of you could get killed. What we're doing on this island isn't a game and you both need to take it more seriously."

Ace looked away angrily, not wanting to admit to himself that the First Commander was right. " Fine…"

" Stupid fucking jackass!" Ai muttered to herself angrily. " How fucking dare he say something like that." How dare he steal a kiss from her then insult her like that! How dare he steal her first kiss and then insult her! When she saw him again she was going to slap him harder, hopefully hard enough to knock those stupid freckles off of his smug face.

" Stupid fucking freckled face jackass!" Ai muttered, touching her fingers softly to her lips; remembering the feel of the kiss. She didn't think it had been that bad… 'It was kind of n-' She shook her head, trying to rid her mind of how warm his lips were against her's. How nice it had felt with his arms securely around her. How warm he had felt. How safe he made her feel. " Why did he have to say something like that…"

" Speaking to yourself?" Ai jumped at the sound of a cool feminine voice. She turned to see a woman with long black hair that fell past her waist. She had cold blue eyes that seemed to bore into her. Her skin was paler then snow and her smile was even colder. " Keep doing that, Miss Ai, and someone will think you are touched in the head."

" Lady Ikkan…" Ai said nervously. " Why are you here?"

" I am returning a letter that little Ceras had sent me." The woman replied calmly. " She wanted me to come to her aide as those devils are savaging her home and selling her people into slavery. Now dear, why don't you tell me why you are dressed like little Ceras."

" I-uh…" Ai muttered in embarrassment, her face reddening quickly.

" You could pass as her twin in looks but there's no way you could ever totally pass as her." Ikkan said calmly, giving Ai a cool once over. " She's a perfect lady and you…well…you're simply a-"

" I know what I am, I don't need anyone to remind me of it."

" I just wanted to remind you not to-"

" I know!" Ai said quietly, fists clenched tightly. If worse came to worse she knew what she would have to do. " Jonas thought it would be a good idea for me to pretend to be Ceras while investigating the goings on of the newcomers. She's currently in hiding right now."

" Of course, dear." Ikkan said calmly wrapping her arms gently around Ai. " Do keep little Ceras safe with every fiber of your being. Her life is much more important than your's shall ever be."

" I-I know." Ai said quietly, her eyes lowering quickly. Ikkan gave her shoulder's a quick squeeze before walking away.

" Please keep _that_ in mind, dear."

" I know…" Ai whispered wrapping her arms limply around her. How could she forget…whenever she found the slightest bit of content that would barrel into her, reminding her of her the thing she tried her best to forget.

" Ai…" Ai jumped at the sound of her brother's voice. Her green eyes were wide with fear as Marco walked towards her, his eyes cold and filled with anger. " Who was that woman?"

" Her name is Ikkan Dragon…she's a distant relative of Lady Ce-"

" Stop it." Marcos said stopping in-front of her and pulling her into his arms. " Stop referring to people by a title like they are better then you."

" I-"

" You're a child of Whitebeard's, you shouldn't ever be made to feel inferior by anyone." Marco said calmly. " Especially by a bitch like that." Ai felt tears begin to prick her eyes as she hid her face into her brother's chest. " I won't allow it."

" I'm sorry, brother."

" Don't." Marco said stroking her hair gently. " You don't need to apologize to me, not ever. Just don't ever allow someone like that to make you feel inferior. You're so much more then what those bastards made you. I won't let you forget that." He felt her begin to clutch at him tightly as she her body started to tremble against him. " You are my little sister and I will always keep you safe."

Marco began to remember when Ai first came to the Whitebeard Crew. She hardly ever made eye contact with anyone and had always been glued to their captain's side. He hated seeing her like that. A child like her should never have had to of gone through the horrors she had.

The adults that had taken care of her had failed miserably. He never wanted to see her like that again. He closed his eyes as memories of that flooded into his mind.

" Pops has been gone a while." Izo said nervously as he stared at a burning section of Mariejois. " Someone should have gone with him."

" He's fine, Izo." Marco said boredly. " He can handle those pathetic world nobles down there."

" But what would happen if a the order for a Buster Call occurred? Even Pops wouldn't be able to withstand something like that! Remember what happened to Ohara?"

" Stop worrying yourself." Thatch said. " It's not going to do anything but make you sick and give you premature wrinkles."

" Don't even joke about something like that, Thatch!" Izo gasped quickly running his hands over his painted face.

" You can stop your whining, Izo." A short, round shark fishman said cooly. His skin was a soft grey color. He had two sets of three sharp pointed teeth, one set on each side of his mouth, on each side of his neck were a set of three gills. On his neck was tattooed the number 8. He wore a white t-shirt with sky blue sleeves with the star logo for the Criminal brand and grey pants held up by a belt. A dark gray shark fin protruded from his back. " He's on his way back right now."

" Where?" Thatch said looking towards the burning city. " I don't see him, Namur."

" That's cause you have shitty human eyes," The shark-fishman joked, elbowing Thatch playfully in his side before pointing to a small dot coming closer and closer to the ship. " There he is."

" Attention on deck, lads!" Marco snapped quickly. " The Captain is returning to the ship!" There was a loud cheer from the surrounding crew members as a small boat halted beside the Moby Dick. A crew member tossed a long rope ladder down over the side of the ship, more cheers arose from the crew as Whitebeard appeared over the side of the ship.

" Welcome back, Pops!" Thatch said cheerfully. " Were you able to find what you were looking for?"

" The slaves from my territories were all missing." Whitebeard replied gruffly, his right arm cradled securely against his chest, his Captain's coat draped over his right shoulder. " Send for Kato." The Captain said to Thatch.

" Are you injured?" Izo asked worriedly at the captain's request for the physician.

" No but fetch him quickly!" Whitebeard demanded as several men ran to fetch the physician.

" Pops…what's going on?" Marco asked becoming nervous. " What are you hiding under your coat."

" Pops?" A tall thin man with thin blonde hair and round glasses appeared amongst the crew, his face was lined with worry. He approached the captain, barely reaching the man's elbow. " You summoned me?"

Whitebeard knelt in-front of him, pulling the coat backwards to reveal a small blue haired child, thin and covered in dirt and grime. The child's eyes were half open and glazed over. " _Dear God_ …" The man whispered, reaching weakly towards the child. " …what happened?"

" The World Nobles happened." Whitebeard said quietly. " I want you to do everything you can to save this child."

" It would be kinder to end the child's suffering then to force-"

" I gave you an order, Kato." Whitebeard said angrily, glaring at the man.

" Of course!" Kato said hurriedly, reaching to take the child from his captain only to have it flinch away from him, fear flooding the once glazed eyes. " Don't worry, little one. I'm not going to hurt you."

" I will take the child to the infirmary with you." Whitebeard said straightening and headed towards the infirmary, Kato following behind him closely.

" What just happened?" Thatch asked once the captain had gone bellow deck to the infirmary.

" It would appear we have a new little brother." Vista said staring at the closed door Whitebeard and Kato had disappeared behind.

" You are a special one, Brother." Namur laughed. " You thought that little bag of bones was a boy?"

" What are you talking about, Namur?" Vista asked in confusion.

" That was a girl, not a boy." The fisherman said smiling.

" A girl?" Thatch said curiously.

" Yep, could tell by the scent."

" How? The kid was covered in so much filth that it would be hard to tell whether she was a boy or a girl." Izo said calmly.

" If you were in the situation that child was in you wouldn't smell or look to good either." Thatch said calmly, walking towards the infirmary.

" What are you doing?" Marco asked.

" Going to see if they need any help." Thatch said giving his brothers a worried look. " Boy or girl that kid is our newest sibling and it's our duty to look after them."

" The kid is the quietest thing I've ever seen." Izo said waving a paper fan lazily. " All she does is follow Pops around never once muttering a single peep."

" It's rather cute the way she follows him around." Thatch laughed. " Kind of sweet too."

" Creepy is more like it." Izo said. " She's been on this ship for almost a month and still hasn't uttered a single word."

" Can you blame her?" Thatch asked grumpily. " We'll never know what horrors that kid went through before Pops found her." He smiled watching the thin little blue haired girl hurry quickly and silently after Pops. Standing quickly he dusted himself off and walked towards them. " Hello little one!" He said smiling down at the girl who jumped and hid quickly behind the captain's leg. He saw one of her sea-foam green eye peak shyly out at him. " It must be very boring just following Pops around all day, hearing all the grown up things he has to do. Would you like to play?" He saw her flinch, her visible eye widen fearfully.

" You can go play if you'd like, little one." Whitebeard said quietly to the girl, who hid her face against his boot. Thatch extended his hand gently to her, his smile even gentler as he saw her begin to tremble.

" No harm will befall you, little lady." Thatch said softly as she peeked her eye out at him again.

" Thatch will take good care of you." Whitebeard said kneeling beside her, placing a gentle hand on top of the girl's head, ruffling her hair gently. " He won't let anyone hurt you. I trust him fully." The girl watched Thatch warily before reaching her trembling hand out to his.

" Now little one, what shall we play? Ball? Tag? Jump rope?" Thatch said smiling happily at her. She gave him a confused look as he spoke of different child hood forms of entertainment. " Which would you like to play then, little one?"

The girl looked down sadly, not knowing how to reply. " Have you never played any of these before?" Thatch asked her, still smiling his gentle smile. When she didn't respond he said. " Don't worry, little one. It's never to late to learn how to." The girl looked up at him taking in his smiling face, she found herself relaxing slightly, a small smile working its way onto her face.

" Now see, that smile of your's makes you look so pretty." Thatch said his black eyes lighting up happily. " You should do it more often!" A pink blush flooded the girl's cheeks as she dipped her head to stair at the deck. " Hey now," Thatch said lifting her chin gently. " No looking down like that, little one. You are better then that, no one will ever make you feel small again."

The girl stared warily at the Fourth Commander, attempting to find out what it was he wanted from her. " Shall we go play now, little one?" Thatch asked her kindly again. She backed away from him nervously, hiding behind Whitebeard once more. Thatch looked to his captain for aide, who smiled weakly back at him.

" Well little one," Thatch said returning a kind smile back to the girl. " Whenever you would like to play then just ask me and I will play whatever you like." With that he stood and walked calmly back towards the other commanders.

" Well that worked out well…" Marco said blankly. " Waist of time if you ask me."

" Hardly." Thatch said smiling at his brother.

" What do you mean? She's still afraid of you." Izo said.

" She is, but not as afraid as she was." Thatch said smiling back at the girl who was now watching the group shyly. " I think I'll win her over."


	13. Chapter 13

Author: I like how this chapter came out. I discussed it several times with my friend and it changed a little each time. So hope u guys like it.

Another month had gone by and the small blue haired child had become less afraid of the crew. At least of Thatch, Izo and Haruta that is. She had even allowed Thatch to pick her up and carry her around from time to time. She was still afraid of Marco though, she would hide behind Thatch whenever Marco came near her. Right now she was currently asleep in Thatch's arms.

" What are you smirking at, Marco?" Thatch asked quietly readjusting the child in his arms gently.

" Just thinking at how far the kiddo has come since she first arrive." The First Commander said smirking. " She'd never allow anyone but Pops to hold her like that when she first came here."

" That's definitely true." Thatch said softly, swaying back and forth gently rocking the girl in his arms. " She's come a long way in only two months."

" It can't last though." Izo said lifting a long thin pipe to his lips sadly. " She can't stay here…a pirate ship is no place for a little girl. Especially one who's been through as much pain as that little one has."

" Izo's right." Vista said softly. " Pops will find her a good home with a loving family to keep her safe though."

" It's going to be hard to let her go, though." Thatch said quietly cradling the child gently as she began to shiver in her arms.

" Yeah, she's a sweet kid." Izo said smiling at the child. " A cute one at that. I'm going to miss the little squirt."

" There's a few of Pops' contacts in the next port that would provide her with a good home." Vista said calmly. " I'm not going to lie…even though she's only been here two months it won't be the same without her here. I'll miss seeing Pops' little blue shadow trailing along after him."

" At least she'll be safe and loved." Thatch said sadly as he continued to rock the little girl. " After everything those bastards did to her, she'll finally be safe."

" Keep the child safe," Whitebeard said calmly to a short heavy set man and woman before him.

" Of course we will!" The short man said calmly the blue haired child gently on the head as she stared at the ground sadly. " She'll be perfectly safe with me."

" She had better be." Whitebeard said calmly as he tried to hide the sadness in his voice as he watched the small girl stare at the floor. " You'll be safe here, little one." He said kneeling in-front of the child, placing his hand gently on her back. His heart clenched as he saw her begin to tremble, her small fists clenched so tightly he saw blood begin to drip on the floor.

" Now, now little one." He said quietly taking her tiny hands in his. " None of that. This is so you will be safe." With that the child ran from him, hiding in a back room. The elderly man stood sadly, it was now or never, if he didn't leave now then he'd end up bring the child with him and there was not something he could do. A pirate ship was no place for a child, especially one so small and frail. Battles between rival crews would pop up without warning…he'd never forgive himself if the child was injured or killed during one of them.

It had been a long and painful walk back to the Moby Dick as Whitebeard pondered whether he had made the right decision in leaving the child with the trader and his wife. He had known them both for several years and they had seemed like decent people. They had also been childless and had given up on having one of their own. He knew they would give the child a good and loving home.

Once aboard the ship he avoided the dissatisfied faces of his commanders. He knew they were as torn about this decision as he was. " We're setting sail." He said calmly to Marco who nodded and started giving orders. Sitting down in the chair sadly, Edward Newgate sat at watched the port begin to sink farther and farther away.

" Father," Whitebeard looked up to see Thatch looking up at him blankly, holding a transponder snail in his hand.

" What is it, Thatch?"

" It's a call from the merchant we left the child with…" Thatch said blankly.

" Did something happen?" Whitebeard asked raising an eyebrow.

" The merchant wishes to speak with you." Thatch said handing the snail to Whitebeard. " It…is about the child."

" What is it?" Whitebeard asked answering the snail.

" Did you know…"

" Did I know what?" Whitebeard snarled.

" Don't play dumb with me, Newgate." The merchant growled. " That _child_ you brought…I will not have it in my home."

" What's wrong with her?" Whitebeard asked, his temper rising.

" You know _**EXACTLY**_ what's wrong with it!" The merchant snarled angrily. " I will not have it in my home! I will not bring that _evil_ into my home!"

" _**THAT EVIL IS AN INNOCENT CHILD**_!" Whitebeard snarled so dangerous that several men passing by froze in their tracts.

" _I WILL NOT HAVE IT_!" Whitebeard slammed the receiver down angrily causing it to crack almost in half.

" Pops…" Whitebeard looked up to see Marco and several other members of the crew watching him. " We seem to have a stowaway…" He saw Izo walking towards him, cradling the blue haired child gently in his arms. Edward Newgate felt his heart sink as laid eyes on the small girl, one eye black and bruised, her lip busted and bleeding.

His eyes were wide with shock at the sight of the child. He couldn't understand how someone could harm an innocent child. " Who did this to you, little one?" Whitebeard asked doing everything in his power to hide the rage in his voice. He saw the fear flash through the child's eyes before she hid her face against Izo's chest.

" I see…the merchant…" Whitebeard said angrily. " I am so sorry, little one. I never meant for such a cruel thing to befall you."

" We'll get you a nice hot bowl of soup, little one." Izo said softly, patting the child gently on the back. " Then a warm bath and to bed with you."

" I'll let the cooks know." Thatch said blankly before striding away.

" Come now, little one." Izo said softly, rocking the child soothingly. " Let's get you cleaned up."

" Marco…" Whitebeard said calmly. " …bring me the merchant…alive."

" Of course, Father." Marco said as blue flames kicked up around him before he shifted into a blue phoenix and flew away towards the port.

" Here you go, kiddo." Thatch said softly handing a bowl of hot soup to the child. She was now resting in bed after Izo had cleaned her up and brought her to his cabin. " Be careful, though. It's really hot." The child stared blankly down at the bowl of soup in her small hands. " Eat up, you'll need your strength to get better."

Anger flooded into him as he saw her hands begin to shake again. " I'm sorry, kiddo." He said trying to control his anger. " We never would have left you there if we'd known this would have happened to you." He watched her begin to shiver and went to a nearby cabinet to get another blanket.

" My name isn't kiddo…"

Thatch paused at the sound of a baby voice. It was so soft and quiet he didn't even think he had heard it at first. He turned to stare at the child in the bed noticing that she was looking at him straight in the eye.

" What was that, kiddo?"

" That's not my name." The child said quietly before looking down at her hands. Thatch felt a small smile tugging at his mouth as he walked back towards her. He took the bowl from her hands, placing it on the bedside table before adding the blanket to the bed.

" Then what is your name?" He asked smiling down at her. She looked away quickly. " If you don't tell me your name then I won't know what to call you…and I'll just have to keep calling you kiddo then."

" My…my name is Ai…" The girl whispered quietly.

" That's a pretty name." Thatch said smiling down at her.

" My sister's gave it to me." The girl whispered.

" Did they now?" Thatch said kindly. " What was the name your mother and father gave you?"

" I don't know…I don't have a mother or father…"

" What happened to your sisters, little one?" Thatch asked handing her the soup again.

" They…we…were separated…" The girl whispered.

" Separated?"

" During the fire…back…there…" Ai whispered quietly, her hands shaking once more, the soup spilling onto the blankets. When Thatch went to take the bowl from her again she flinched away, expecting him to strike her for ruining the blankets.

" Don't worry, little Ai." Thatch said softly, stroking her soft blue hair. She was so small and frail, she looked like a little blue bird, like she would shattered at the slightest touch. Yet she was stronger then most grown men. " No one is going to hurt you."

" You…you are going to send me away again." Ai whispered sadly.

" We just want you to be safe."

" It's because I'm to little…" Ai whispered, tears swelling up in her green eyes. " I just get in everyone's way…that's why my sisters left me…"

" Hey now," Thatch said hurriedly, pulling her into his arms. " I'm sure they didn't leave you. You just got separated. I'm sure they're out there looking for you."

" No they aren't." The small girl said, trying her hardest not to cry.

" You don't know that." Thatch said softly stroking her hair gently. " They may be worried sick about you. Looking for you day and night."

" They left me when those men grabbed me and dragged me back to the cells…I saw them run away. They didn't want me anymore then anyone else does."

" That isn't true." Thatch said hugging her closer.

" Yes it is…" Ai said, her small voice breaking, making Thatch tighten his hold around her. " …and you all are going to get rid of me too."

" We-"

" It's cause I'm to little." Ai whimpered. " Why would anyone want such a little person around?"

" Was the merchant the one that hit you?" Thatch asked quietly, already knowing the answer. When the child nodded it only added more fuel to his anger. " Why?"

" Because…I'm evil…"

" You're just a little child." Thatch said comfortingly. " There's nothing evil about you."

" Yes there is! That's why no one wants me!" Ai said hurriedly. " Because I'm evil! A sin!"

" That isn't true!" Thatch said angrily. " Whatever you've heard from those bastards is wrong! You're a child! Nothing more! Children deserved to be loved and protected! You are no different."

" But-"

" Do you want to stay with us?" Thatch looked up at the sound of his captain's voice. He swallowed quickly as he locked eyes with the man he acknowledged as his true father. " Would you like to stay with us then, little one?"

Tears swelled in the child's eyes at the captain's question. " Would you like to stay with us, little one?" Whitebeard repeated his question again and when she nodded he asked. " Why?" The girl was quiet for a long period of time before responding.

" Because you are fun."

" Fun?" Whitebeard asked curiously.

" All of you are fun." Ai whispered. " You all are fun and loud and big and strong. I know that if I stay here…I won't get lost. Ever."

" How do you know that?" Whitebeard asked calmly looking down at the girl bellow him. " You're small. Small things are often lost and lost quickly."

" I won't get lost! I promise!" Ai said fearfully.

" And how is it you plan on not getting lost?" Whitebeard asked.

" I'll never get lost," Ai said looking up with him. " Because all I'll have to do is to look for you!"

" Look for me?"

" I'll look for you because you're so big and tall!" Ai said quickly, her voice starting to crack again. " _So please_ … _ **please**_ _let me stay_!"

Whitebeard felt his fists tighten angrily at the sound of this small child's pleas. Of her fearful eyes that pleaded not to be discarded. " If that is what you want, small one…then you may stay with us for as long as you like." Fear and uncertainty remained in her eyes but he could have sworn he saw a glimmer of hope dart through them.

" While you are here you will be treated as one of my children. No one will harm you and you will not harm them. The crew members here will be your brothers and you their little sister. Understood?" He saw the girl nod quickly. " They won't allow any harm to come to you." He turn to leave before saying. " Ai is a pretty name…do you know what it means?" When she shook her head he smiled and said. " It means love."

Ai watched the men move around the village from her vantage point high in a tree. There were far more then she had originally thought.

She and Marco had decided to split up to cover more ground. She wanted to personally lay eyes on the men selling those she swore to protect. They were just as dirty as she imagined. She wanted to such the vary air from their lungs as she saw them strut about; one even struck a small boy who simply tripped in-front of them.

These men were nothing but servants…snakes…in a flower garden…her father's garden. The snakes were strangling the flowers here. She had to stop them. This village had been through enough. The people here were exotic. They all had various hair and eye colors, that made them look like flowers. These exotic traits made them run for high prices if they were sold to the right slavers at the right markets.

" What are you doing up there?" Ai looked down to see a middle aged man with scraggly strawberry blonde hair, flecked with grey and white. He wore rectangular glasses that had small crack in one of them. His right arm was bandage and in a sling.

" Oracle?" Ai said warily.

" Miss Ai?" The man asked. " Why are you dressed like Lady Ceras?" Ai jumped lightly down beside the man.

" Oracle…what happened to your arm?"

" It's nothing to worry about, Miss Ai." Oracle said wavily his good hand dismissively. " Now why are you dressed like that?"

" I'll tell you who I'm dressed like this if you tell me what happened to you arms?"

" Sneaky little brat," Oracle said calmly. " Did your criminal family teach you that?"

" No, I learned it all on my own." Ai sassed back. She never took what Oracle had to say about her family seriously. She knew the old man didn't approve of her being on a pirate ship but she knew he was all talk.

He helped run The Home with Jonas, he was also the disciplinarian, so he had to be tough. There were almost seventeen children in The Home that he was responsible for. Jonas was normally the good cop between the two of them…but Oracle cared for all those little rugrats and would protect them with his life.


	14. Chapter 14

Author: Sorry that I haven't posted a new chapter recently. Moving is is such a pain in the ass.

" Those bastards broke your arm!" Ai snapped as Oracle told her about the slavers retaliation for kicking their asses when they came to The Home. They had tried to take some of the children away and had met with a large machete.

One of them met it in the stomach. The others had to clean up the entrails. Jonas had to take care of the children…and their nightmares…Oracle had to leave. He couldn't look them in their sweet…and innocent little faces.

" You did the right thing, Oracle." Ai said, watching the man in-front of her. " I'd rather them see something like that once then see the things that come with slavery."

" But from someone they trusted…"

" They know that someone will protect them no matter what." Ai said quietly. " It's better then what I had at Mira's age."

" What happened to you at that age was horrible, little one." Oracle said patting her shoulder comfortingly.

" It doesn't matter…that is over. What matters now is protecting the people here from the horrors that await them if the slavers are allowed to run free."

" What do you propose we do then?"

" That fucking freckled bastard!" Dalton snarled pressing ice to his face. " How the fuck did he do that?"

" What?" A man asked.

" Manifest fire like that!"

" Obviously it was a devil fruit power." A large, heavy set man with a bulbous nose and warts laughed.

" This isn't funny, Holland." Dalton snapped.

" Of course it is!" Holland said. " Did you seriously think that Jonas would roll over and hand Ceras over?"

" Those old pieces of shit!" Dalton said. " Who would have thought they had skills?"

" That will teach you to underestimate your enemy." Holland said cheekily.

" They are hardly the enemy."

" Yeah, just ask Randy." Holland said grinning over at him. " He got to personally say hello to his spleen."

" Only cause the old man took him by surprise!"

" Which is how you throw off an enemy."

" _**BOSS**_!" A man yelled hurriedly, rushing into the room. " _**WE**_ ' _ **VE SPOTTED CERAS**_!"

" Where?" Holland said quickly. Two other gruff and dirty looking men came in and tossed two children, a girl with red haired pulled up into pig tails and a boy with short leaf green hair and sky blue eyes, in-front of them.

" She ran off as these two helped to keep the boys from finding her." One man said. " She was last seen running off into the jungle with another little brat!"

" And you morons couldn't catch a little girl with a brat?" Holland snapped making the children flinch.

" Boss-"

" And you idiots let these little brats stop you from catching her?"

" Boss-"

 _ **SMACK**_!

Dalton watched as his boss hit one of his fellow workings, making the children begin to tremble. He saw the little boy push the girl protectively behind him. " Are you that pathetic that kids bested you?" The two henchmen remained silent as Holland berated them.

" Find the bitch and drag her here, by the hair, kicking and screaming, if need be."

" Yes Boss!" The men said before rushing out of the room.

" Little harsh, Boss." Dalton said.

" They deserve it for being bested by children."

" What would you like us to do with them?" Dalton asked as the boy continued to glare at them.

" They are orphans," Holland said grabbing the girl by her hair and jerking her forcefully away from the boy. " No one will miss them."

Ace leaned against a tree along a path that led from the village to the main docks. He understood why Marco wanted him to watch it but it was the most boringest thing ever. He wanted nothing more then to walk off this stupid island, but no, he had no idea how to work that stupid boat of Ai's. Plus there's no telling where Marco was on the island, if he tried to steal the boat the first commander could swoop out of no where and drop kick him into the ocean.

So here he was, watching the most boringest path he had ever seen in his life. He found his mind drifting back to a certain unruly blunette. A wry smile began to tug across his face as he remembered how soft her lips had felt against his, how innocent and curious she had been with her kiss. She tasted good as well and he found himself wanting another taste.

" What's wrong with me?" He muttered to himself, running his hand through his black hair. He found the Second Commander completely irritating and wanted nothing to do with her. She was constantly getting in the way of his plans to take down Whitebeard.

He was annoyed with the fact that she could beat him so easily too. " Stupid woman." He muttered as an image of her with a pink blush that had crept into her cheeks after their kiss. Her lips were slightly swollen and parted. " Damn…" He grumbled as heat flooded his own cheeks as he found himself wanting another taste.

Ace then remembered the anger and hurt that had flashed her face when he insulted her kissing abilities. The kiss wasn't as horrible as he had made it out to be. He really liked it actually, but he had to go and ruin it by opening his big mouth. Then he had to go and ruin it by insulting her. " Shit…" He muttered, running his hand over his face.

He felt like the biggest asshole in the world. He hand to apologize to her when he saw her again. If she didn't send him flying into the atmosphere.

" Damn woman…" What was she doing to him?

It was then that Ace saw two sets of ugly from earlier walking down the path, a pair of large brown sacks slung over their shoulders. Ace raised an eyebrow as the sacks were moving.

" Stupid brats." One man snapped, shaking the bag angrily. " Quit moving around so much or I'll slam you into a tree!"

" Shut up, moron." The other growled. " If you do that you'll damage the merchandise. We won't get a good price on them if they are to broken."

" Or you could let those kids go." Ace said stepping out towards them.

" You again!" The first man growled.

" Yeah, yeah, yeah." Ace said as he cracked his knuckles. " Let's cut out the stupid bullshit tough bad guy act and let those kids go before I set you on fire."

" Go fuck yourself, kid." The first man spat pulling out a pistol and aiming it towards Ace.

" That's not going to do you any good, fucktard." Ace said in a bored voice.

" Shut up, brat!" The man snapped firing the pistol quickly. Ace sighed as he felt the bullets faze through him easily.

" _The fuck_!" The men both yelped.

" Why are you not dead?" The second man gaped. " Or at least bleeding!"

" You two aren't that bright are you?" Ace said calmly walking towards the men.

" Wait! What kind of monster are you?" The second man said causing Ace to pause. He had heard it all his life. Many people had often referred to his bloodline as cursed. People had told him many times that if his father had had a child that it would have been a demon. There were very few people that knew his actual parentage that didn't curse him for it. His two brothers for example.

" He's a devil fruit user." The first man growled taking a step back. " Shit!"

" Let those kids go now." Ace said walking towards them, flames kicking up around his fists.

" Back off, freak!"

" Make me." Ace snapped before plowing his fist into the man's face. Spinning skillfully behind the man he caught the sack before it hit the ground and kicked him into a nearby tree, knocking him unconscious. Setting the sack gently onto the ground he untied it quickly to reveal Jameson glaring hatefully up at him, his small hands and feet were bound, his mouth gagged.

Ace saw relief flash quickly into the boy's blue eyes before Ace removed the gag from his mouth. Anger flared through him as he saw a large bruise starting to form on the boy's cheek. " That bastard has Jasmine!" The boy cried as he saw the second man dart off towards the docks. " He's gonna sell her!"

" Oh like hell he is." Ace said darting after the man before round house kicking him in the head and grabbing the sack containing Jasmine. He cradled the sack gently as he untied the top and pulled it off Jasmine. He saw fear dart through her brown eyes as tears streamed down her small face.

" Hey, hey, hey!" Ace said awkwardly as he untied the bindings around her wrists and ankles. " Don't cry, kid. Everything's fine now."

" No it's not!" Jasmine cried. " The bad men are gonna go after Lady Ceras and Mira!"

" What do you mean, I thought they were hiding."

" They are searching the island looking for them!" Jasmine cried. " And when they find them they're gonna hurt Mira to get to Lady Ceras! Mira's so little and she's gonna be scared!"

" We'll find them." Ace said comfortingly as he carried her back towards Jameson who had managed to untie his own bindings and began rubbing his wrists.

Anger flooded through Ace again as he saw burn marks on the children's wrists and ankles. Memories of when his younger brother Luffy had been kidnapped and been beaten bloody for not ratting him and their other brother, Sabo, out.

He had hated seeing his little brother that way, even if he had hated him at the time. His brother was always a trouble magnet and very annoying when he had first met him. Always following him and Sabo around, getting them into trouble.

" Where's Nee-chan?" Jasmine asked hurriedly, her face pale. Ace shifted awkwardly at girl's question. In truth he didn't know where the blunette had stormed off to after he had made a complete ass of himself.

" I-uh-"

" _**YOU**_ ' _ **RE SUPPOSED TO BE WATCHING HER**_!" Jameson said angrily making Ace's eyes widen. " _**NEE**_ - _ **CHAN COULD GET HURT**_! _**THOSE BAD GUYS ARE LOOKING FOR LADY CERAS**_! _**NEE**_ - _ **CHAN LOOKS JUST LIKE HER**_! _**WHAT IF THEY HURT HER THINKING SHE**_ ' _ **S LADY CERAS**_!"

" Calm down, kid." Ace said hurriedly. " Ai's not going to let some pathetic jackasses like those guys get the jump on her."

" _**YOU**_ ' _ **RE A STUPID ASSHOLE**_!" Jameson yelled. " _**YOU**_ ' _ **RE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT GIRLS**_! _**NOT LET BAD GUYS HURT THEM**_!" With that he darted off down the road in search of said blunette.

" Ah shit," Ace muttered realizing that if that kid got hurt Ai would hurt him.

Ai leaned against a tree stealthily as she watched the people of the village dart back and forth. A nervous aura hung over the village. Fear ran rampant throughout the whole place. She could smell it on the air.

" This isn't going to be easy." She muttered quietly as her eyes scanned the crowd, searching for the slavers who were had carefully hidden themselves about the village.

" There you are, you sneaky bitch!" Ai felt her heart clench in her chest, the blood suddenly ran cold as she heard the voice of a man who had haunted her dreams since she was four years old. Turning she looked up to see a large, heavy set man with a bulbous nose and warts.

" Y-You…"


	15. Chapter 15

Author: yay! New chapter! Hope everyone likes it. The first part of the chapter was the original beginning of the story but I decided to chapter it up and inject it.

" Get back here, you little shit!" A large, heavy set man with a bulbous nose and warts snarled as he chased after a small blue haired child. He would have had the child in his grasps but the child was slippery.

" I'll fetch a good price for you! Now get back here, you little bitch!" With each attempt to grab the child, she would slip away from his reach. " Come on, kid! It won't be that bad! Three square meals a day, bed to sleep in, clothes to wear, people to be around. Be like paradise on earth for ya! Win-win situation."

" Go away, fupib fafe!" The girl yelled in a fearful, squeaky, high pitched voice.

" What did you call me, you little bitch?" He snapped reaching out to grab at her, only to have her duck out of his reach. He lost track of her as she crawled through the underbrush. _How the fuck can a blue haired brat disappear so easily_? He growled angrily.

The child hid underneath a large holly bush, praying that the dark green foliage would hide her from her tormentor. She tried desperately to stabilized her breathing and trembling. Tears swelled in her sea foam green eyes. She couldn't figure out why this man was chasing her. She hadn't done anything bad…today, that is. Sure she stole food a little here and there, but she was small so it was hardly noticeable.

Her trembling became worse as she heard his footsteps drawing closer and closer. Her breath caught in her chest when he paused in-front of her hiding spot. She fought the fear that began to swell through her as he scratched the back of his balding head.

The only time she felt her breathing return to normal was when he walked away. She didn't feel herself relax until she could no longer hear his footsteps.

She tensed up suddenly as a pair of cold arms wrap securely around her, covering her mouth, preventing her from screaming.

" Calm yourself, little one." A cold feminine voice said. She turned to see a woman with long black hair that fell past her waist. Her face was hidden in shadow but all she was able to see was that the woman had cold blue eyes that seemed to bore into her. Her skin was paler then snow and her smile was even colder, sending chills throughout her entire body. " Now why, oh, why are you hiding?"

" The bab mam if pwying po pape me away."

" Is that really such a bad thing?" Fear ran through the girl at the woman's words.

" I bump mamma go wiff him!" The girl said in a soft squeaky tone.

" Why not?" The woman said stroking the girl's cheek tenderly. " Why would you want to stay here where there's no one to take care of you? No one to love you."

" Bup! Dah mife mam who vifipf me!"

" He doesn't care for you, little one." The woman said as the girls saw her white teeth shining in the moonlight. " I heard him say so. He no longer wants anything to do with you. He said he never should have tried to help you."

Tears swelled in the girl's eyes at the woman's words. " This place has given you nothing but pain. Why should you stay. Perhaps you should go with him. It could be so much better where he takes you. Maybe you will find a true family where ever he takes you."

" Bup!" The little girl cried fearfully. " I wamp po fay! Wiff dah mife mam!"

" But he doesn't want you." The woman said coldly, her smile growing wider and wider as she stroked the girl's face. With each touch to the girl's face she felt a fog start to fall over her mind. " No one will ever want you. Why can't you see that?"

" B-Bup…" The girl whimpered. " H-He faib…he faib I pouwb pome wibe wiff him. Him amb bah obaw mife ma- _ **ah**_!" Tears streamed down her face as the woman grabbed her blue hair tightly in her fist.

" You aren't wanted here, child." The woman said with an evil grin. " _**He**_ doesn't want you. He said he'd rather be _**dead**_ then to have to spend another second with you. You are truly a filthy, disgusting child. He said he wished he had never seen you. Haven't you realized that by now? It's why you have no parents. They couldn't stand you either. You bring nothing but sadness to the people here."

Tears streamed down the child's face. " I-I-" Before she could finish the woman she was shoved through the shrubs. She cried out loudly as the thorns and branches cut her face and arms up. Terror flooded through her as the moonlight illuminated her small form to the outside world.

" Aiko!" Her heart raced quickly as she heard the voice of the one person that had brought her comfort and happiness in the world. She looked up to see a tall man with long black hair running towards her, a large claymore strapped to his hip. He wore all black. Several layers of thick animal leather was strapped to his left hip. A large cross scar ran diagonally across his face. He's body was strong and muscular. As she stared at him, the girl was reminded of the strong warrior forest elves from the stories the villagers told children.

" _**THERE YOU ARE**_!" She heard the man from earlier yell before she felt a sharp pain run through her as she was jerked backwards by her hair. " _**YOU LITTLE BITCH**_! _**DON**_ ' _ **T YOU EVER TRY TO RUN FROM ME AGAIN**_!"

" _**LET HER GO**_!" The dark haired man yelled angrily. " _**KEEP YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF HER**_!"

The girl felt her tears renew at the man's words. He did want her. How could she ever have doubted him? He would keep her safe, just like he promised. He would make the bad man go away and then he would take her home with him and give her the life he promised her. To let her have a home that he had always promised her she would have.

 _ **BANG**_!

Horror ran through her as she saw the dark haired man stumble. She cried loudly as she saw him clutch his chest.

" Don't cry, little one." He said cheerfully. " It will be alright." She couldn't help it. The one person that had shown her kindness and love was now hurt because of her. Maybe the woman was right. Maybe all she did was cause people pain.

" Don't cry," She heard him say again. She saw him begin to walk towards them. " My sweet little Aiko." He said calmly. " My sweet little baby bluebird."

" AL-"

 _ **BANG**_!

 _ **BANG**_!

The girl screamed in horror as she heard the gun go off two more times. How could the dark haired man still be standing after being shot three times? He should have fallen but yet still he stood.

 _ **WHAM**_!

A whimper flowed through her as the dark haired man sent the bad man flying with a vicious punch to the face. Relief flooded into her as he pulled her securely into his arms.

" My sweet baby bluebird." He whispered gently, running his fingers lovingly through her hair. " I'm so sorry that you're hurt."

" You bom'p hape me?"

" How could I hate you, my precious babe." He said softly. " I'm so sorry I let you get hurt. My sweet baby bluebird."

" I cam fay wiff you?"

" As long as I draw breath, my baby bluebird, I will keep you safe and I will always love you." He said cupping her face gently in his hands. Leaning forward he kissed her forehead gently before standing and placing her protectively behind him. " Run somewhere safe, little bluebird. I will find you once it's safe."

Ai felt a fear run through her that she hadn't felt since she was a small child. Her whole body went ramrod stiff. It felt as if a bucket of ice had been poured onto her.

" You little bitch," The man snarled wrenching her backwards by her arm. " I've been searching this whole fucking village for you."

Ai felt herself begin to tremble as she stared at the face of the man that had taken the very first person to have ever cared about her in her life. After the man had placed her protectively behind him and told her to run the bastard in-front of her had shot him dead.

It hadn't been long after that that he had caught her and beaten her so severely that she had blacked out. Until now she had tried to block out the memories from that night. But more often then not they had crept back into her mind whenever she tried to sleep. It was only when her father held her protectively to him that she would relax. That the memories would fade away and she'd stop shaking.

She wished he was here right now to make this nightmare go away. To hold her and tell her it was just a dream and that she was safe.

But he wasn't here now and she had to deal with this on her own. Especially now as his grip bit into her arm so tightly she was starting to loss feeling in said arm.

" How dare you put me through this shit." The man growled tightening his grip causing a small squeak to escape from her. Whirling around she drove her fist into his face.

" Let go, you bastard!"

" _**Bitch**_!" He snarled as blood dripped from his now broken nose. " You broke my nose!"

" It's an improvement in my opinion." Ai snapped angrily as a bruise was a already starting to appear on her arm. The man lunged for her again causing her to dodge him and drive her knee into his large gut.

" _Stupid bastard_." Ai muttered.

" Since when do _**you**_ know how to fight?" The man muttered as he clutched his abdomen.

" Since people started trying to make me do things I don't want to do." Ai said crouching down in-front of him, her eyes going blank. " Don't ever underestimate your opponent, shit b- _ **EEP**_!"

A loud squeak escaped from Ai as the man grabbed her ankle, jerking her to the ground. " Take your own fucking advice, _**princess**_!" He growled crawling on-top of her, pressing all of his weight onto her.

Ai felt all the wind being knocked from her. Forcing herself to stay alert she tried to shove him off her, only to have him grab her wrists. " Ah, ah, ah little girl." He whispered into her ear, causing her to gag from the scent of his foul breath. " You feel good underneath me." Ai tried to keep herself from vomiting as she felt him nip at her neck.

 _ **WHAM**_!

A small squeak of pain escaped from the man as Ai drove her knee forcefully into his groin before she was able to crawl out from underneath him. Just as she thought she was free she felt his hand grab the back of her dress. Struggling quickly to get away from him she heard a loud tear and the warm summer air blew quickly against her now exposed back.

Ai stumbled as the man quickly let go of her. " Well, well, well." She heard him say, an evil hint to his voice, making a chill run throughout her body. " What do we have here?"

" _Boss_!" Dalton hurried into the mansion.

" What is it?" Holland asked angrily, dusting himself off.

" We heard you got into a fight with someone?" Dalton said worriedly. " Was it that devil fruit brat from earlier?"

" No."

" Was it Jonas or Oracle?"

" No."

" Then who?"

" Something very interesting."

" Something?"

" Follow me." Holland said walking out of the room. Dalton raised a confused eyebrow as he began to follow his boss. Opening a large door near the end of the hallway Dalton saw Lady Dragon Ceras tied to a chair, arms behind her back, mouth gagged.

" How did you find her?"

" She's not as sneaky as she thinks she is." Holland said calmly.

" Where was she?"

" Almost out in the open." Holland said calmly.

" Well, that's supposedly the best way to hide from your enemy."

" Apparently not since I found her." Holland said pouring a shot of high priced bourbon.

" I can't believe you found Ceras." Dalton said calmly.

" Look closer you moron." Holland said taking a swig. Dalton's already raised eyebrow went higher as he walked towards the hostage heiress. Giving her a thurough once over he didn't understand what his boss was getting at.

" I don't understand."

" What kind of heiress has calloused hands?" Holland said smirking.

" She's not Ceras."

" Ding, ding, ding dipshit." Holland said grinning sadistically over at her.

" The who is she?" Holland walked over to the Ceras dapple-ganger grinning sadistically at her, pulling a dagger from his side.

Slicing the front of her dress down to her waist, exposing the last mark Dalton expected to see. " Dear God…do you know who she is?"

" Of course I do."

" She the Second Division Commander of Whitebeard's crew!" Dalton said paling drastically.

" No she's not." Holland said coolly.

" Of course she is!" Dalton said hurriedly, fear coursing through him. " You just roughed up one of Whitebeard's Commanders! Do you know what that means?"

" Nothing that you need to worry about."

" Of course I need to worry!" Dalton snapped. " We all need to worry! Once Whitebeard finds out he'll kill us all!"

Holland snatched the wig from the woman's head before jerking her head forward, exposing her back to Dalton. " She's not just a member of Whitebeard's crew…she's the property of the Celestial Dragon's…an escaped slave."


	16. Chapter 16

Author: HUZZAH! 2 Chapters in one day! my brain hurts…bed time for me now! enjoy!

" Where is she?" Marco muttered angrily, hovering high above the tree line, his arms turned into blue phoenix wings. It had been hours since Ai had stormed off and he hadn't seen her since. Not that he didn't think she could handle herself, he knew she could, but he still worried about her.

From what he had determined about this place, it meant a lot to her and she sometimes didn't think things through before she acted when things meant something to her.

" Why does she have to be a hot head?" He groaned angrily, longing for the days of when his sister was smaller and listened to him more.

Actually…now that he thought of it…she hardly listened to him then either. She normally listened to Thatch or Izo, rarely him. Like when he told her to take it easy or else she'd get sick. That was when she was around nine. She was always trying to help him and his brothers, to prove that she had some worth to them.

Sometimes she'd work herself so hard she'd get sick. He hated seeing her like that. She had been a kid…a kid so afraid of being abandoned that she made herself sick trying hard not to be abandoned.

That was actually how they had found out about her devil fruit powers. There had been strong winds around the ship for a few days. Ai had been keeping to herself a lot over those few days. Not even Thatch could get her to talk to him, which was extremely odd.

It hadn't been until Thatch had found her collapsed that they realized she was sick. She had a high fever and raspy breathing. He hated himself for not realizing she was sick. Once they got her into the infirmary and Kato had started her on antibiotics it happened…she sneezed.

It wasn't just any sneeze.

This sneeze sent her rocketing up into the rafters. He never remembered his eyes going that wide before in his life. Not even when he ate his own devil fruit.

She had hide her powers so well for so long. He felt a little hurt that after a year she hadn't trusted them enough to inform them of her powers…but when he had heard of how she had gained her powers he understood why she didn't want to talk about it.

He remembered how his blood ran hot once he heard of all the things that had happened to her before they had saved her. He wanted to torture all of those worthless bastards himself if he even met a single one of them.

It had taken him a long time to help Ai learn to control her powers. A long time for her to trust him enough to let him help her…but it was well worth it. She was a quick learner…she was good at gaining recon too. She was normally in and out quickly when it came to gaining info…but not right now.

Now she was taking to long.

Ai never took this long without at least checking in with someone.

Every fiber in his being was telling him that something was wrong. He needed to find her and fast before something bad happened to her or the people of this island.

" She's gotten herself into quite a predicament." A cold feminine voice had said. Marco glanced down to see a woman with long black hair that fell past her waist. She had cold blue eyes that seemed to bore into her. Her skin was paler then snow and her smile was even colder. She stared up at him with unwavering emotionless eyes.

" Who are you?"

" My name is Dragon Ikkan."

" I was told Ceras was the only living member of the Dragon family left."

" Told by whom?" Marco didn't like the way the woman's mouth curled in curiosity. The way he couldn't find any kind of emotion in those dark pools.

" _Who_ are you?"

" I just told you, First Division Commander."

" How is it you know who I am?"

" You face is very easy to recognize. It's on a million wanted posters around the world." Ikkan said. " Marco the Phoenix."

" How do you know Ai is in trouble?"

" I saw Holland take her earlier." Ikkan replied coolly.

" And you didn't stop him?"

" How could I?" Ikkan said, pushing out her lips in a pouting manner. " I'm just an ordinary woman, how could I possibly have stopped them?"

" You and I both know you are far from ordinary."

" How could you possibly know that?"

" I didn't become a commander in Whitebeard's fleet without being able to read people."

" Very intuitive, Commander." Ikkan said. " But there would have been no way I could have stopped them from taking the Second Commander. Also, before you ask I wasn't able to see where they took her."

" Describe what he looks like then."

" So demanding." Ikkan said with a fake sweet sounding tone in her voice. " I like that in a man. You know you remind me of another man I once knew." Marco landed a few feet away, careful to keep a lengthy distance away from her. She was dangerous and until he learned more about her he had to keep an eye on her.

" Who exactly was that man?"

" It doesn't matter now, he's long dead."

" By who's hands?"

" By his own stupidity."

" And how was he stupid?"

" He got himself killed by doing something I advised against."

" And that was?"

Marco didn't like the smile that was on her face. He also didn't like the mocking undertone that was there either. " You might want to go search for Miss Ai before something bad happens to her. Those men on the island are slavers and we both know what Ai is."

Marco felt his chest clench tightly at her words. Ai wouldn't let them find out her secret…and if they did she wouldn't let them live with the knowledge. But if the odd chance they did get the better of her…a cold sweat broke out.

He had to find her, quickly. If they found out about her past, if they saw her back…then she was in serious trouble.

It was then that he realized that Ikkan had disappeared. When the hell did she disappear? How the hell did she disappear.

" Shit…" He muttered. He needed to find Ai quickly.

" Where are you, baby sister?"

" Where did that kid go?" Ace grumbled angrily. How could someone that small be so fast? He kept asking himself that question as if each time was the first, but he had seen it many of times. His brother Luffy had been able to run as if he had the devil himself chasing after him.

Ace had experienced that uncanny ability to disappear at the sudden drop of a hat. He had to when he was growing up. With his family heritage and Luffy constantly getting into trouble.

" Jameson is good at being sneaky." Jasmine said from the position underneath Ace's left arm.

" Obviously." Ace replied. " But if his ability to be sneaky gets him into trouble I need to be able to help him. Or else he could get hurt or worse."

" He's trying to find Nee-chan!" Jasmine said. " He won't get hurt, cause he has to make sure she's safe."

" That doesn't mean he can't get hurt looking for her." Ace said. " Those guys that tied you up in those bags could find him and do a lot worse." He saw her eyes widen, saw fear run through them. " I don't want to scare you, kid…but I have to keep this real. You have to understand the position we're in. These men are bad news. Really bad."

" But Nee-chan…"

" Ai isn't going to let those jackasses hurt her." Ace said. " She's tough."

" You said a bad word."

" Damn it…"

" And another!"

" Jeeze kid, I know what comes out of my mouth!"

" Do you like Nee-chan?" Ace paused at her question.

" W-What?"

" Do you like Nee-chan?" Jasmine said curiously looking up at him.

" I-" Ace froze trying to think of a way to answer her question. " I…don't _hate_ her."

" Do you like her?"

" I just said-"

" No you didn't! You said you don't _hate_ her! That's not the same as liking her."

" It-" He couldn't finish his statement. He didn't know how to. He couldn't answer that question himself. In truth he didn't hate her…but he didn't know if he liked her or not. With the more he found out about her the more he respected her. She was a fighter.

" She has to be okay…" Ace looked down at the girl under his arm and saw tears in her eyes. " …she has to be. She promised she'd always be okay."

" Hey now," Ace placed her on the ground gently. " This is Ai we're talking about. She's to stubborn to let anyone hurt her."

" But if the bad men get Mira or Jameson!" She hiccuped as she tried to keep herself from crying. " If they get them they could use them to hurt Nee-chan or Lady Ceras!"

" I'm not going to let that happen, Jasmine." Ace said patting her gently on the head. " I promise I won't let anything hurt them or Ai."

" But you don't hate her."

" And people who I don't hate I won't let get hurt." Ace said calmly. " When I promise something I do everything in my power to keep it."

" Promise… _promise_ that Nee-chan will be okay!" Jasmine said with a pleading look in her eyes. " She has to be…she promised to keep us safe. That we'd always have a home."

" I won't let Ai break her promise."

" _**YOU LITTLE BITCH**_!" Dalton yelled angrily as Ai had just broke his nose. " HOW DID YOU GET OUT?"

" You know for the right hand man around here you are pretty stupid." Ai said rubbing her wrists, the ropes had rubbed them raw as she pretended to be helpless. " After seeing Ace wield his devil fruit powers you're surprised by mine."

" B-"

" Ever wonder how a girl the age of sixteen could become a Commander in Whitebeard's crew?" Ai said cheekily. " Never underestimate an opponent."

Her eyes went cold as she watched him. " You attacked and ravaged innocent lives. You tore countless families apart over the years without any reprimand but this time you made a mistake."

" And that is?"

" You attacked my people." Ai said walking towards him slowly, a small gust of wind spiraling around her wrists. " You attacked my _family_ , my _**nakama**_!" With that she delivered a blow to his face. " That I can't ever forgive."

Ai paused as she saw the man fly through the wall. She had to calm herself. She was acting out of pure rage. If she continued to do this she could make a mistake.

But she couldn't help it. These bastards had harmed innocent people. Her people and they didn't care. They ruined innocent lives. Destroyed hopes and dreams.

" It's time to get back to work." Ai said grabbing the man by the back of the neck, jerking it backwards. " Where are the ships with the slaves heading to?"

" Why would I tell you?"

" Because I could suck the very air from your lungs without a single care in a world." She tightened her hold on his neck, sinking her nails deep into his skin, causing him to cry out. " Now where are the ships heading?"

" _TO_ _**MARIEJOIS**_!"

Anger plowed into her at the sound of the place she hated most in the world. " How long ago did the ships set sail."

" _PISS O_ - _ **AAH**_!" She dug her nails deeper into his flesh.

" _**HOW LONG**_!"

" Two days ago."

' _Shit_!' She thought angrily. The last ship had left the day before they made it to the island. They were at least half way to the slave auction houses. She needed to get word the Moby Dick. Judging by where they had left the ship they could intercept them before making it to the world capital.

 _ **WHAM**_!

Ai slammed the bald man's face into the wall before walking out the door into the bright light of the morning. " I owe Ceras a new dress too." She said looking down at her almost completely exposed chest.

That could wait though. She hadn't seen where the slaver's boss, apparently called Holland, had run off too. For all she knew he could come back at any moment.

" _**NEE**_ - _ **CHAN**_!"

Her eyes went wide at the sound of Jasmine's voice. ' _No_!' She thought fearfully. ' _She can_ ' _t be here_! _None of them can be here_! _It isn_ ' _t safe_!' She looked up to see said child rushing towards her just before she barreled into her.

" _**NEE**_ - _ **CHAN**_! _**YOU**_ ' _ **RE SAFE**_!"

" Jasmine, what are you doing here?" Ai asked fearfully.

" She was worried about you so I told her we'd find you to calm her down." Ai looked up to see Ace walking cautiously towards her, half expecting her to hit him.

" You brought her here?"

" Isn't that what I just said?"

" _**HOW STUPID CAN YOU BE**_?" Ai yelled her face loosing all color. " _**IT ISN**_ ' _ **T SAFE HERE AND YOU BROUGHT HER HERE**_!"

" Nee-chan…" Jasmine said in a fearful voice. " …don't be mad…"

" What are you talking about?" Ace asked before noticing the state of her dress, his face turning tomato red. " What happened to you?"

" None of your business, now get her out of here!" Ai snarled.

" I will in a minute!" Ace said taking off his shirt before putting around her shoulders.

" What are you doing?" Ai snapped. " We don't have time for th-"

" Just shut up, already." Ace said as he buttoned the shirt up, ignoring the warmth and softness of her skin.

Ai noticed the redness in his cheeks as he helped her dress. His hands were strong but shaky for some reason. " -sorry."

" What?" Ai asked suddenly, not hearing what he had said.

" I said I'm sorry…" Ace repeated quickly. " For earlier…"

" Earlier…?"

" About the… _you know_ …"

" _Oh_ …" Ai said feeling a lightbulb go off above her head. " The k-"

" _**Shhh**_!" Ace said hurriedly, placing his hand over her mouth quickly. " I said I was sorry, but I don't want to talk about it."

Ai nodded quickly, a smile appearing on her face. She appreciated the fact that he apologized. She knew given his stubbornness how much it must have taken for him to do that. She actually felt her heart flutter at the act.

" Now what happened to you?" Ace asked, dropping his hand slightly to gently stroke her cheek. " Who attacked you?"

" It's n-"

 _ **BANG**_!

 _ **BANG**_!

" _**NEE**_ - _ **CHAN**_!"

" _**AI**_!"


	17. Chapter 17

Author: FINALLY A NEW CHAPTER FOR SPARKS! Now sleep! Enjoy everyone!

Ace caught her quickly just as he saw her knees buckle. " _**AI**_!" He saw pain flash through her green eyes as they went wide. " _**AI**_!"

" _**NEE**_ - _ **CHAN**_!" Jasmine cried, running over to them.

" Ace…" Ai whimpered through gritted teeth. " Get her out of here!"

" Ai-"

" _**I SAID GO**_!" Ai yelled shoving Ace away towards the street. Stumbling slightly she straightened herself and marched towards the house. " Take Jasmine to Oracle now! If you find any other kids, take them there too!"

" Don't be stupid, woman!" Ace snapped, reaching out to grab her only to have her jerk away. " Do you really think you stand a chance with that bullet wound?"

" _**FOLLOW A FUCKING ORDER FOR ONCE**_ , _**JACKASS**_!" Ai snapped. " _**NOW PROTECT SOMEONE THAT DESERVES IT**_! _**PROTECT AN INNOCENT KID**_!" With that she walked determinedly back into the house.

" _**FUCK**_!" Ace snapped whirling around and snatching the red haired girl up into her arms, carrying her towards the Home. _Stupid woman_! He thought angrily as he stormed away. _Stupid_ , _pig_ - _headed woman_! _If she wants to die so badly then fine_!

" Will you stop squirming already!" Ace snapped to Jasmine, who was determined to free herself from his hold.

" _**NEE**_ - _ **CHAN**_!" The girl cried sorrowfully. " _**YOU CAN**_ ' _ **T LEAVE HER**_! _**PLEASE GO BACK**_!"

" She-" But he couldn't finish his thought, he didn't know how to. The woman was insane, how could she just go into a battle with a wound like that? How did she expect to make it out alive?

" _**THAT BAD MAN HURT NEE**_ - _ **CHAN**_!" Jasmine cried sadly.

" I know!"

" _**WHY ARE YOU LEAVING HER**_?" Jasmine cried. " _**PLEASE DON**_ ' _ **T LEAVE HER**_!"

" Stop being so loud! You'll bring all those bastards down on us!"

" _**BUT NEE-CHAN**_! _**WE NEED TO HELP HER**_!"

" I will but you-"

" What are you doing with that filthy child?"

Ace looked up to see a woman with long black hair that fell past her waist. She had cold blue eyes that seemed to bore into him. Her skin was paler then snow and her smile was even colder. Jasmine began to tremble in his arms as the woman watched them coldly.

" Who are you?"

" That's Lady Ikkan…" Jasmine whispered fearfully.

" My name is Ikkan Dragon."

" What do you want?"

" What are you doing with that filthy child?" The woman called Ikkan repeated. " It should be back at The Home with Jonas and Oracle where it belongs."

" Her name is Jasmine, not it." Ace growled, tightening his hold protectively on Jasmine. " And she can go wherever she wants."

" Orphans should be kept out of sight where they don't bother good people."

" What's that supposed to mean?" Ace asked angrily.

" Orphans are nothing but an inconvenience. All they do is cause others problems. Just look at the problem they are causing poor Miss Ai."

" Ai doesn't see them as a problem." Ace snapped. " Those kids mean a lot to her!"

" Of course she wouldn't see them as a problem. After all she was a problem to someone else who foolishly cared about her. Now that person is dead. All because he cared about a pathetic little orphaned brat." Ikkan said coldly, stroking Jasmine's cheek with a pale finger. The red haired child flinched away fearfully. " That girl is cursed. All she does is bring others pain and death. There is a black cloud that hovers around her. Stealing the lives of others…her betters."

" You're wrong." Ace said, hatred for the woman in-front of him suddenly appearing. " Ai isn't cursed."

" Oh dear boy," Ikkan said sweetly, stepping towards him and cupping his cheek with one pale hand. " You don't know anything about her, do you?

In truth he didn't. There were many things about her that he didn't know or understand but the one thing he did know was that she wasn't cursed. That she didn't cause the deaths of those around her. Of those she cared about.

" You're right." Ace said angrily. " I don't know her. I don't know anything about her. But I do know that she isn't cursed."

" I like you, boy." Ikkan said stepping closer to him, pressing her body against his. He felt a fog start to descend over his mind.

" You remind me of a man I once knew." Ikkan said seductively. " He thought like you. That that pathetic little blue haired brat was worth something. All that got him though, was an early."

" What are you talking about?"

" So you see, she really is a black cloud that brings only death and pain to those around her." Ikkan said, smiling as she saw Ace's eyes glaze over.

" Stop talking!" Ace snapped jerking backwards. " What are you doing to me?"

" Keep that in mind, boy." Ikkan smirking. " That girl will do nothing but cause you pain."

" Nii-san," Jasmine whimpered. " Don't listen to her, Nii-san! Nee-chan isn't bad! She's nice!"

" Orphans should be quiet!" Ikkan snapped. " Quiet and not seen."

" Back off, lady!" Ace said as tears began to swell in Jasmine's eyes. " She's just a kid!"

" And I should care because?"

" You b-"

" Hush now, boy." Ikkan said, cupping his cheek again. " Just relax and don't worry about Ai. She'll be gone soon enough."

" A-Alright…" Ace whispered, his eyes started to glaze over again. " She'll be gone-"

" _**ACE**_!"

Ace jerked backwards at the sound of Marco's angry voice, the fog starting to lift from his mind. Blue fire shot downwards towards them. Dodging skillfully, Ace tucked Jasmine protectively to his side as the First Commander descend from the sky.

" Marco?"

" Stay away from her, Ace!" Marco snapped stepping between Ace and Ikkan. " She's dangerous."

" What are you talking about?"

" She's a Devil Fruit user." Marco said, pulling a dagger from his belt. " A paramecia type."

" Shit!" Ace said.

" Marvelously done, First Commander." Ikkan said, an overly calm smile still present on her face. " How ever did you figure that out."

" I'm not a Commander in Whitebeards fleet for nothing." Marco snapped.

" Obviously." Ikkan said, her smile still remaining. " As you said, I'm a Devil Fruit user. I ate the Peto Peto no mi. It allows me to manipulate others to do my bidding."

" Where's Ai, Ace?"

" She-"

" Nee-chan's hurt!" Jasmine cried.

" _**SHE**_ ' _ **S WHAT**_?" Marco yelled. " _**SHE**_ ' _ **S HURT AND YOU**_ ' _ **RE HERE**_! _**WHAT**_ ' _ **S WRONG WITH YOU**_?"

" Ai-"

" _**SHE SHOULDN**_ ' _ **T BE ALOME WITH A SINGLE ONE OF THOSE BASTARDS**_!"

" Of course she should be," Ikkan interrupted, her smile growing. " Leave the girl be. Those men will take her back to where she belongs."

" She doesn't belong there!" Marco growled, the grip on his dagger tightening. " She belongs with her family!"

" Wait…what are you talking about?" Ace asked in confusion. " Where are they planning on taking her?"

" To where she belongs." Back to the Human Auction Houses in the Sabaody Archipelago."

" Human Auction Houses…?" Ace said, his face paling as realization hit him like a ton of bricks. " You mean the Slave Houses."

" And the light bulb has finally gone off." Ikkan said grinning evilly.

Anger flooded through him as Ace saw Ikkan's grin. He had seen the Slave Houses when he had entered the Sabaody Archipelago on the way to the New World. The thought of seeing someone he knew up there…the thought of seeing Ai on the selling blocks made his blood boil.

He realized now that he had seen the mark on Ai's back before. It was the mark of the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon. The property brand of the Celestial Dragons.

" The mark she has…it's a slave brand."

" Why do you care so much about where Ai is?" Marco asked. " She's just a teenage girl who doesn't have anything to do with you!"

" She does have something to do with me!" Ikkan growled, finally losing her smile. " That little bitch took something that was mine away from me!"

" That _girl_ is my sister!" Marco growled, blue fire kicking up around him. " And she will be spoken about with respect!"

" That little bitch should never have been born in the first place! And because of her I lost someone very important to me! All because of her!"

" _**STOP BRINGING HIM INTO THIS**_!" An angry male voice snarled. The group looked over to see a middle aged man with scraggly strawberry blonde hair, flecked with grey and white. He wore rectangular glasses that had small crack in one of them. His right arm was bandage and in a sling.

" _**ORACLE**_!" Ikkan scratched. " _**IF YOU KNOW WHAT**_ ' _ **S GOOD FOR YOU**_ , _**YOU**_ ' _ **LL STAY OUT OF THIS**_!"

" That little girl has nothing to do with his death! He's dead because of your selfishness! It had nothing to do with Ai! She's innocent in that department!"

" _**SHE SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN BORN**_!" Ikkan screeched. " _**I**_ ' _ **M GOING TO RIGHT HIS WRONG**_!"

" That is your decision!" Oracle growled. " Ai is a good girl who doesn't even deserve the pain you gave her!"

" _**YOU GAVE**_!" Marco growled. " You're the one who's been hurting Ai frmo the beginning, haven't you!"

" As I've said previously, she shouldn't have been born! If it wasn't for her and her whore mother, Elia, then Alduin would still be alive!"

Marco froze at the sound of two names he hadn't heard in a long, _long_ time. He now remembered Jonas had mention Alduin's name before but his mind hadn't connected it.

He felt ashamed that his missing brother's name hadn't registered. This woman had known Alduin. She had known about what had happened to him.

His brother had been missing for over sixteen years, the last they had heard from him he had been in this area of the New World with a young woman named Elia. They had been searching for them both ever since.

Why hadn't he recognized his name until now?

" Don't you dare blame Alduin's death on that girl! Your petty jealousy killed him!"

" _**I DID NOT**_!" Ikkan yelled. " _**THAT LITTLE BITCH KILLED HIM**_! _**IF HE HAD JUST LET THE SLAVERS TAKE HER HE**_ ' _ **D STILL BE ALIVE**_!"

" _**SHE WAS HIS DAUGHTER**_!" Oracle yelled. " _**ONE THAT HE COULDN**_ ' _ **T PUBLICALLY CLAIM BECAUSE HE WAS AFRAID THAT YOU WOULD KILL HER LIKE YOU DID WITH ELIA**_!"

" How do you know that?" Ikkan asked suspiciously.

" I've known it for years!" Oracle snarled. " Elia was a king and gentle girl who only wanted to help others. Alduin loved her more then anything else in the entire world! The stench of your jealousy was so thick in the air before and after she died it was hard not to notice!"

" How did you know about Elia!" Ikkan growled. " She died whelping that little bitch!"

" Not all women who die from childbirth smell of Belladonna!" What little color that was in Ikkan's face drained instantly.

" Who are you?" She asked. " How do you know all this?"

" I knew Alduin for years. I knew how much he loved Elia and how destroyed he was when she died. I know how much he loved their child as well." Oracle snarled angrily, his eyes starting to glow. " I know how much you hated Elia and that baby. You wanted him but he didn't want you."

" _**SHUT UP**_!" Ikkan yelled. " _**HE WAS MINE AND SHE STOLE HIM**_! _**SHE HAD NO RIGHT TO HIM**_!"

" You were the fiancee that he ran from!" Marco said quickly, his eyes widening. " Alduin had mentioned that his father had arranged for him to marry a wealthy merchants daughter. So he ran. He refused to let someone decide something as important as his wife for him."

" Alduin hated people deciding his fate for him." Oracle growled. " That's why he left this place to begin with. He wanted to make his own fate, and he chose to do it with Elia! And you took her and their child away from him!"

" _**WHO**_! _ **ARE**_! _ **YOU**_?" Ikkan screeched. In response Oracle pulled an aged talon hanging from a silver chain that dangled from his neck. " But that's-"

" That's Alduin's!" Marco said, his face going pale. " He used it to summon an all black drag-" Realization hit him like a ton of bricks. " Wait, you're not the - you can't be."

" When the Dragon family came to these islands they didn't kill the dragons to end the fighting…they bonded with them." Oracle said flashing a white smile, his right canine missing. " Alduin was my partner and you killed him."

" _**I DID NOT**_!" Ikkan yelled. " He caused his own death by choosing Elia and that little bitch over me!"

Ace couldn't believe what he was hearing. Ikkan had killed Ai's mother and father and sold her into slavery all because of jealously. Because she couldn't have Ai's father so she caused all this pain for everyone else. Torn countless lives apart because of her own selfishness.

" But your name is Dragon!" Marco stated quickly. " If your name is the same as Alduin's, then h-"

" I married Apophis, Alduin's twin brother. Once Alduin abandoned me, I was forced to settle for Apophis. A sickly and pathetic imitation of his brother. I eventually even gave him what he wanted so he would leave me in peace. I whelped out that brat, Ceras, and left!"

" But Ceras said her mother died." Ace said in confusion.

" I would have rather of been dead then to stay in that house with that pitiful excuse of a man and useless whinny brat."

" You abandoned your family and destroyed three other lives!" Ace growled.

" And now she's selling the people of these islands off as slaves." Marco said. " Even willing to sell her own daughter off to one of these pigs."

" It's about time she became of some use to me!" Ikkan snapped.

" Why you b-" Ace froze as the scent of smoke filled the air. Looking up he saw plumes of black smoke ascending into the sky. From the direction of Ceras' mansion…where he had left Ai.


	18. Chapter 18

Author: Enjoy the new chapter, everyone! I'm studying a new course for my job so it may take me a while to update new chapters for Sparks, Oro Jackson High and Beneath the Moon.

 _ **WHAM**_!

Ai drove her fist angrily into Holland's face sending him flying backwards. Cold sweat dripped from her face, her side throbbing in pain.

Not only did she owe Ceras a new dress but she also owed Ace a new shirt. She had torn a large section off and tied it to her waist in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

She still didn't understand how she had been shot. The bullet should have passed through her body easily, causing no harm. Yet it hadn't this time. This time the bullet had lodged itself in her side, which was extremely painful.

Her powers weren't working either. Her strength was starting to fade as well. It was like when she was a child and her owners would dunk her into sea water.

" What did you shoot me with?" Ai snapped strolling towards the slaver.

" It's called sea prism stones." Holland said wipping a stream of blood from his busted lip. " They replicate the effect the ocean has on Devil Fruit Users. I was able to get it adjusted into bullets. I knew that by coming here that Whitebeard would send one of his commanders her to stop us."

" You planned on shooting one of my brothers?" Ai said cracking her knuckles, her voice strained in anger.

" In all honesty I had hoped to use them against Marco or Jozu. Hell, I was even hoping that Whitebeard himself would come, so I could try these babies out on him. Test his reputation out as the Strongest in the World."

 _ **WHAM**_!

Ai drove her first angrily into Holland's face repeatedly. Anger flooded into her instantly. " You bastard." She snarled. " First you killed the first person I actually cared about and now you tell me that you planned on harming even more people I love?"

" So I take it we've met before?"

" Unfortunately, yes." Ai said in disgust. " You may not remember our previous meeting but I do. I remember everything about that horrible night."

" Trust me, little girl. If we have met in the past, I would remember." Holland said sweeping Ai's feet out from beneath her. Pinning her underneath him, the slaver ran his hands greedily over her. " With a body like this, it would be hard to forget."

" _**GET OFF OF ME**_ , _**YOU PIG**_!"

" Is that anyway to speak to your new master?"

" _**FUCK YOU**_!"

" That's what I plan on doing to you, little girl. Over and over again."

Ai felt bile rise in her mouth at the thought. The very thought of him touching her like that day after day, made her want to vomit.

The bile rose even more when she felt him run his hands over her. " _**GET OFF**_!"

" I plan on doing just that, little slut." Holland said, sliding his hand up her inner thigh. " I'm sure you're used to being fucked a lot. I bet you've fucked every single member of Whitebeard's crew. Probably even Whitebeard himself. After all, why else would he keep a fucking slave around?"

 _ **WHAM**_!

" _**AH**_! _**YOU FUCKING BITCH**_!" Holland screamed clenching his head in pain, blood trickling down his forehead. Ai quickly rolled out from under him, grabbing a dagger from the leather pouch on her thigh.

" That's what you get, you freak!" Ai growled. " Don't you dare say that filthy shit about my family!"

" Family, huh?" Holland said smirking over at her. " Is that what you'd call it?"

" That's what they are!"

" Then where are they? Why aren't they here to help you?"

" Shut up! I came here by myself!" Ai lied, she didn't want him to know that Marco was here. Not when he has those bullets for Devil Fruit Users.

" No you didn't, little bitch." Holland said, his smirk growing larger. " That boy is here with you."

What little color Ai had in her face drained instantly. _Shit_. She thought worriedly. _I forgot about Ace_. _How could she have forgotten about that annoying freckled face jackass_.

" You stay away from him!" Ai growled, the grip on her dagger tightening. " You leave him alone!"

" I would but that boy tends to get in the way." Holland said. " You know, sticking his nose where it doesn't belong. Him and those little brats. It would be a shame if something where to happen to them."

 _ **WHAM**_!

" I told you to shut up." Ai said slamming her fist into his face. " I told you to leave them out of this!"

" _**YOU LITTLE BITCH**_!" Holland growled lunging for her. " _**I**_ ' _ **M GOING TO FUCKING BEAT YOU WITHIN AN INCH OF YOUR WORTHLESS LIFE**_!"

Ai sank her dagger into the slaver's shoulder. " _**I SAID FUCK OFF**_!" Ai said twisting the dagger.

 _ **YANK**_!

" _**AH**_!" Ai gasped as Holland grabbed her by the hair with his uninjured hand before slamming her face into the wall repeatedly.

" _**YOU STUPID LITTLE WHORE**_!" Holland snarled punching her repeatedly in the back of the head.

" _**GYAH**_!" Ai gasped, blood trickling down into her eyes. " _**GET OFF**_!"

" It's time to reteach you your place in this world!" Holland snarled driving his fist into her diaphragm. " You've been given to much freedom! Your lesson is going to be a painful one. I'll try not to enjoy it to much."

" _**BASTARD**_!" Ai gasped, trying to steady her breathing.

" Boys!" Holland said, snapping his fingers. Ai jerked suddenly as she felt several pairs of hands grab her. Her eyes went wide as she saw Dalton and several other men holding onto her. " Don't worry, boys. Once I'm done with her, you all can have a go at her."

" Try not to rough her up to much, Boss!" Dalton grinned, twisting Ai's arm painfully. " I like her tits and that pretty face of her's."

" Bastards!" Ai yelled attempting to wriggle free.

 _ **SNAP**_!

" _**AH**_!" Ai yelled as pain flooded her senses as she heard her left arm snap. Cold sweat streamed down her face as she tried to struggle to free herself.

" Where are you going, hot stuff?" Dalton said nipping at her neck. " Don't you want to hang out with us some?"

" I'd rather go for a swim in the ocean."

 _ **WHAM**_!

" Keep talking whore, and that where you'll end up." Holland said slamming his fist into her abdomen. " I'm going to have to teach you a lesson."

" About how not to do proper oral hygiene?"

 _ **WHAM**_!

Ai spat up blood as Holland's fist connected with her abdomen. " _**STUPID**_! _**LITTLE**_! _**BITCH**_!" Dizziness and pain flooded throughout her entire body with each blow Holland delivered. She felt all her strength begin to fade as blood dripped out of her and darkness crept into her vision.

Sadness filled her as the reality of her situation hit her. She had two options. One, Holland was going to sell her back into slavery or two, he was going to keep her himself and eventually kill her. To be honest, she'd rather die here and now.

Regret also filled her as she wished she had listened to Marco when he had advised her to bring the Second with her. She wanted to see Jonas and Oracle one more time. She wanted to see the kids at The Home one more time. She wanted to see her family one more time. She also wanted to see-

" What's this?"

Panic raced through her when she saw Holland pull the pouch from her thigh. " Give that back!"

" You don't give orders here, bitch!" Holland said, back handing her across the face. Reaching his hand into the pouch and pulled out a flute.

" _**I SAID GIVE THAT BACK**_!"

 _ **WHAM**_!

Ai began coughing up blood as Holland drove his fist into her wounded side. " I said be quiet!" Holland snapped before Ai spat blood in his face.

Silence fell quickly as the slavers waited for their boss to react. Seconds felt like hours before the fat man finally spoke.

" It's going to be fun breaking you." Before falling into unconsciousness Ai saw Holland snap her flute in half.

" _**SHIT**_!" Ace yelled rushing through the forest as if a fleet of Marines were after him. " _**STUPID WOMAN**_!" Why did she have to be so stubborn? Why hadn't she listened to him? Why hadn't he made her come with him? She had been shot after all…he had left her. Jasmine and Jameson were right, he was an ass.

Looking down he grasped the talon that dangled from around his neck. Confusion flooded him as he remembered his conversation with Oracle.

 **(WOOO FLASHBACK)**

" _**NEE**_ - _ **CHAN**_!"

Ace ran through the forest, carrying the red haired child on his back. He needed to help Ai but he couldn't as long as Jasmine was with him. If she was hurt, Ai would never forgive him and he would never forgive himself either. " It's okay, kid." He said attempting to sound reassuring.

He had wanted to leave her with Marco, knowing the First Commander would be able to do everything in his power to keep the girl safe but he couldn't. Marco had stepped between him and Ikkan when she had tried to stop him from leaving. He just hoped that Marco wouldn't succumb to the woman's manipulative powers.

" Nee-chan is hurt! Why did you leave her?"

" She wanted you safe."

" But you left her!"

" When you get older, little one, you'll understand the meaning of sacrifice." Ace froze at the familiar sound of Oracle's voice. Skidding to a halt he spotted the wounded man emerging from the foliage. " Your big sister would sacrifice herself many times over in order to save you and your siblings."

" What do you want?" Ace asked warily.

" To help my friend's child be happy and to live a good life." Oracle replied sternly.

" If you really are a dragon then why don't you lose that human disguise and help her?"

" I can't." Oracle said stiffly. " When the dragon clan came to this archipelago, instead of slaying the dragons they used a spell to bind us to them."

" Bind how?"

" Many of my kind viewed it as a curse because of us being tied to humans…we cannot change into our true forms unless our human partner willed us to. Our magic is locked inside us and we require a strong clan member to unlock it."

" So?"

" The last person I bonded with was Alduin and he is now dead."

" So find Ceras and bond with her. Or hell, come with me and bond with Ai. But I can't just stay here talking with you, I need to get back to Ai. She's in trouble!"

" I can't bond with either of them. Ceras is to weak physically to support me and Ai's soul is far to damaged to support me."

" She-"

" The trauma's that girl has sustained in her past have scarred her soul so badly that it wouldn't be able to sustain my powers."

" She-"

" She's a strong willed girl but she isn't strong enough to support my powers. They would overwhelm her and stop her heart instantly."

" So? Why are you telling me this? All you've managed to do is tell me that you're useless and I am waisting my time talking to you! Time that I could be using to help Ai!"

" Watch it, boy!" Oracle snapped. " What I'm getting at is that I can't bond with Ai but I might still be able to help her."

" How?" Ace asked as Oracle removed the chain around his neck that held his talon. Ace saw unease and reluctance in the elderly man's eyes before he handed it to Ace.

" I've been storing some of my powers in this ever since Alduin's death…it won't be as strong as if I were able to take my true form…but it can still help."

" How?"

" For me to use my true powers I need to be bonded to a strong member of the Dragon clan….but you may be able to use this small amount…temporarily."

" Why me?"

" You wield the power of the Mera Mera no Mi. Fire is your strong suite…my fire is far stronger but I'm only giving you a small amount so you should be able to control it."

" What happens if I can't?"

" Death by dragon fire is excruciatingly painful." Oracle said with a small grin. " Or so I've heard."

" Thanks, I guess…" Ace said nervously taking the talon from him. Uncertainty flooded him as he felt heat radiating from the talon.

" Nii-san," Jasmine said worriedly. " Nee-chan needs help! You need to help Nee-chan!"

" I know but," Ace needed to find a place to hide Jasmine.

" Give her to me." Oracle said outstretching his good arm. " I'll see to it that she is safe." Ace watched the man with uncertainty. " I've taken care of Jasmine since she was six. I'll make sure she's safe." Ace was still unsure until he saw tears swell in Jasmine's eyes and she began struggling in his arms, trying to get to Oracle.

" _**ORA**_!" She cried sadly.

Ace sat her down gently and she darted quickly to Oracle tightly, sobbing against him. " Now, now wee one." Oracle said softly, fixing her hair gently. " Why all the tears?"

" _**YOU LEFT**_!" Jasmine cried, burying her face in his legs. " _**YOU KILLED THE BAD MAN AND THEN YOU LEFT**_! _**WHY**_?"

" I didn't want you lot to be afraid of me, so I thought-"

" _**COME HOME**_!"

" But-"

" _**COME HOME PLEASE**_!"

Ace saw a mixture of love and pain flash into the older man's eyes. He truly love the children at the Home and it pained him to not be there with them. " Go." He said emptily. " Get her somewhere safe."

With unease in his eyes Oracle nodded. " Get your ass moving, boy. Ai needs you."

" Save Nee-chan!" Jasmine cried fearfully, worry deep in her round green eyes.

" Don't worry, kid." Ace said stiffly. " I will."

 **(End Flashback)**

" Stupid woman!" Ace growled. " You had better still be alive!" Panic filled him as he saw black smoke billowing upwards as he neared the mansion. " I'll kill you if you're dead, Ai!"

" What's wrong, little bitch?" Dalton laughed, all the fear of what Whitebeard may do to them was now gone as Ai sat tied against a chair, semi-conscious. " Nothing smart-assed to say?"

" Go fuck yourself, asshole." Ai muttered weakly.

 _ **WHAM**_!

" _**DALTON**_!" Another man yelled. " Watch how you hit it. It won't be so attractive if you hit it to much!"

" Yeah, if the boss does decide to sell it, we don't want it to be so bruised and broken." A different slaver said, gripping Ai's chin forcefully with his hand. " Broken merchandise doesn't fetch as good of a price."

" I still don't see how such a pathetic little sack of shit became a commander in Whitebeard's fleet." The first man said. " Probably by sleeping with the old man. Who knew he was such a player."

 _ **BANG**_!

" _**HOLY FUCK**_!" Dalton yelled in fear as a gun shot wrong out of no where s the man who hand been gripping Ai's chin head exploded.

" What the hell's going on?" Another man yelled, his face losing any and all color it had.

Laughter rang out eagerly from Ai at the sight of the men and their panicked faces. " What are you on about, bitch?"

A weak yet evil grin spread across Ai's face as blood dripped from her busted lip. " You all are so fucked."


	19. Chapter 19

Author: MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! Enjoy the new chapter, everyone! Sorry it took so long to write. I've been dealing with some family issues recently. My grandmother passed away on the 16th and my dad had knee surgery that same day but we're working through everything and trying to make the most of our time together while we can.

" What are you on about, bitch?" The man repeated fearfully as Ai's laughter grew.

" You fucktards should never have come to this island chain. You've pissed off it's guardians-"

" _**SHUT YOUR STUPID MOUTH**_!" One slaver yelled raising his hand, prepared to strike her.

 _ **BANG**_!

 _ **BANG**_!

A screech of pain wrong out from the man as two bullet holes appeared in his hand. " _**WHAT THE HELL**_?" Dalton yelled fearfully.

" Those two were just warning shots." Ai said in amusement. " Leave this island or the rest of you are going to end up like him!"

" _**YOU LITTLE BITCH**_!" Dalton snarled angrily. " _**YOU**_ ' _ **RE ENJOYING THIS**_ , _**AREN**_ ' _ **T YOU**_!"

" Only a little." Ai grinned weakly. " You bastards just got what you deserved for destroying peoples lives for so long!"

 _ **SLAP**_!

" Shut your fucking mouth!" Dalton growled.

" Hitting me won't change anything. It doesn't change the truth."

" Why you little-"

" Is that smoke?" One slaver asked.

" Probably." Holland said in a blank tone. " I set some of the back rooms on fire about twenty minutes ago."

" _**WHAT**_! _**WHY**_?"

" Why not?" Holland said dismissively.

" I thought you wanted to keep this house!"

" With Ceras' money I can buy a bigger and better house somewhere else." Holland said grinning over at Ai. " I remember you now. You're that little brat from twelve years ago. The one that Ikkan paid me to get rid of."

" Wait…what?" Ai said worriedly

" She wanted you gone so she could have some man." Holland said. " The one I shot actually. I thought I was going to get a big reward for dropping his body off at the nearby Marine Post but once I got done tracking you down the body was gone."

" Why would you turn him into the Marines?" Ai asked weakly.

" Are you kidding me?" Holland laughed eagerly. " Do you seriously not know who that man was?" When Ai continued to give him a confused look his grin grew. " That man was Dragon D. Alduin, also known as the Black Dragon."

Ai's mind reeled with this new info. The man that had taken care of her and loved her when she was small was actually the late Second Division Commander of Whitebeard's crew. Why on earth had he been here when she was a child? And why had he even given a rat's ass about her? She had just been some random orphan and he hand been a famous pirate commander. Why had he wanted to keep her…and why had he died to protect her?

" I'm pissed that I couldn't collect his bounty. It would have been such a great pay day."

" You bastard!" Ai snarled weakly. " I'll fucking kill you."

" You can't even stand right now, baby cakes."

" I'll find a fucking way."

" It's not going to happen, little whore."

" Are you really that stupid if that is the only insult you can come up with?"

 _ **WHAM**_!

Dizziness and pain flooded Ai's senses as the slaver struck her once again across the face. " And when words fail you, you resort to physical abuse. You're a fucking savage."

 _ **WHAM**_!

" I'm going to enjoy breaking you, little b-"

Dalton froze at the sound of the door behind him flew off the hinges. Whirling around he saw the freckled kid from earlier storm angrily into the room, fire whirling dangerously around his fists and feet.

" _Ace_ …?" He heard the blue haired girl whisper weakly and in disbelief.

" What do you want, boy?" Dalton snapped.

" I'm here for her." The boy snapped back, anger clearly evident on his face as his eyes flashed to the blue haired girl.

" Sorry kid, she's not your's to take." One of the slavers said greedily. " She belongs to the boss."

" Fuck off, asshole!" Another replied, wiggling his eyebrow at Ai. " The boss can do with her whatever he wants with her, and then when he's done with her, we'll get our-"

 _ **WHAM**_!

Dalton watched in amusement at the freckled kid slammed his fist into his henchmen's face, sending him flying through the closest wall.

" Hand over the girl, now." The boy demanded.

" Why should I?" Dalton smirked. " Do you know how much money I can get for her?" Amusement flooded through him as he saw hatred in the boy's eyes. " The only female Commander in Whitebeard's fleet. I could make a killing for her at Sabaody."

 _ **BOOM**_!

Fire shot past the slavers face. Hatred surged through Ace at the thought of ai being paraded onto the selling blocks at Sabaody. The two may be at each other's throats every minute of the day but he would never allow them to sell her. She didn't deserve it. " You talk to much."

" Ace," Ai said weakly. " You need to get out of here!"

" _**SHUT UP**_ , _**BITCH**_!" Another slaver said, drawing his fist back to strike her.

 _ **WHAM**_!

Ai felt a strong gust of air pressure blow past her before several of the men around her collapsed. Her eyes wide in confusion as the realization of what had just happened hit her. Someone had unleashed the Haoshoku's Haki.

Quickly searching for her brother Marco, believing he had finally been able to unleash it. Yet when her brother failed to appear, realization of just who had unleashed it. Her eyes were wide with disbelief as she took in the sight of Ace standing there, deadly calm. " _A_ - _Ace_ …?" Ai whispered in disbelief. " I- _ **AH**_!"

" This bitch belongs to me, boy!" Holland said grabbing Ai by the hair and jerking her backwards. " I'll do whatever the fuck I want with her!"

Ace felt his cheek twitch angrily as he saw the bruising around Ai's face. How she had dried blood on her lips from the beatings they had obviously given her. Pure hatred pulsed through him as his eyes landed on the bullet wound to her side and to see how she was cradling her left arm against her and now his anger intensified at the sight of the slaver manhandling her.

" She isn't your property." Ace growled, his voice dangerously low. " _Let go of her_!"

" Sorry kid, but this mark right here," Dalton said jerking Ai forward, causing her to almost face plant. Pointing at her back he continued. " This mark right here says that I can do whatever the fuck I want to it. It's going to fetch a high price."

" _Bastard_!" Ace snarled taking a step forward.

" Ace, stop! Just go! G-"

 _ **WHAM**_!

Ai gasped in surprise when Ace drove his fist into Holland's face, sending him flying through the nearest wall. " _**A**_ - _ **Ace**_?" Ai gaped in surprise, her eyes the size of saucers. " _**Wh**_ - _ **What**_ -"

Before Ace could stop himself, he had pulled her tightly against him, burying his face against her neck and inhaling deeply. " _**A**_ - _ **Ace**_?" He heard her whisper weakly. " _W_ - _What did you do_? _D_ - _Do you realize what you just did_?"

" Shut up." Ace said quietly. " Just shut up."

" _B_ - _But y_ - _you d_ - _don_ ' _t realize what you just did_!" Ai whispered, tears swelling in her eyes.

" I said shut up."

" _B_ - _But why are you here_? _You shouldn_ ' _t be here_!"

" Why not?" Ace asked calmly wiping the tears gently from her eyes.

" He's going to kill you, ace!" Ai said in a panicked voice. " He's going to kill you or take you to the human auction houses! You need to leave! I don't even know why you're here!"

" I came here to help you." Ace said, his voice still calm.

" _**WHY**_?" Ai cried out panickedly. " Just leave me now! I won't get in your way anymore when it comes to fighting Pops, _**SO JUST GO**_!"

" Ai," Ace said, anger seeping into his voice. Did she really believe the slaver? That all she was good for was to be someone else's property.

Or was it something that bitch Ikkan had done. When she had touched him earlier he felt his mind starting to drift, like, a fog had fell over his mind. What if Ikkan had done to him had been to Ai? It didn't matter anyway, if she truly thought that then once he was done with the slavers he was going to pound some sense into her. " I'm not going t-"

" _**JUST GO**_!" Ai cried, clutching her broken arm to her side before standing up shakily. " I'm doomed anyway. I'm damned to hell already. There's no reason for me to exist in a world where good people are. In a world were those kids exist." Ai turned, giving her back to Ace. " I had a good time with my family, with Pops and everyone…but I knew it wouldn't last. That eventually I would end up back at Sabaody." Tears swelled in her eyes again. " I'm fine with it. As long as I can get those people on the ship back then that all that matters."

Ace froze when he heard a slight catch in her voice. She really believed what she was saying. His anger rose inside him again at the realization of what she believed about herself. That she would go back to Hell to not only protect the people of this island chain but because she actually believed she deserved it.

An image of a boy with curly blonde hair, black eyes and a big goofy grin that was missing a tooth flashed into his mind. He felt his chest tightened at the memory of his late brother.

His brothers, Sabo and Luffy, were everything to him when he was a kid…and when Sabo had left with his parents to protect Ace and Luffy from them…it felt as though his heart had been ripped out of his chest. It had been a million times worse when he had found out that Sabo had been killed in an escape attempt.

Ace remembered how much pain he had been in when he had heard about his brother. He remembered how much he had forced himself to be strong for Luffy. About how he had refused to let him see his tears.

" You have a little brother out there, right?" Ai asked weakly, jerking Ace from his memories. " I heard you telling Thatch about him once…He sounds like a great kid…" Ai bit her lip sadly, trying to control her emotions. " I hope you get to see him again."

Ace had caught sight of Ai's back when she moved to walk towards the slaver. He had seen her the brand and scars there and it caused him to see red. Before he could stop himself, Ace had grabbed her and pulled her against him.

" Shut up…" Ace said angrily, his face buried against her neck. " You made a promise to those kids." His voice became stern and full of anger, becoming worse when he saw her body begin to tremble. " You are their big sister, you have a responsiblity to them! That is why you were born first, to protect them! You can't just abandon them like this!"

" I am protecting them!" Ai said quickly. " If I-"

" What's going to happen to them when you're gone?" Ace snapped angrily. " Who's going to take care of them, protect them, look after them, when you're gone!"

" I-I-"

" You're stupid ass isn't going anywhere, do you understand!"

" _ **HEY**_!" Ai snapped angrily. " _ **DON**_ ' _ **T YOU FUCKING TALK TO ME LIKE THAT**_!"

" _**I**_ ' _ **LL FUCKING TALK TO YOU HOWEVER THE FUCK I WANT TO**_! _**ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU START TALKING STUPID THE WAY YOU ARE RIGHT NOW**_!"

" _**YOU ARE SUCH A JACKASS**_!" Ai yelled, glaring angrily. " _**WHO ARE YOU TO TELL ME**_ -"

" _**DO YOU THINK HE WOULD WANT YOU TO DO THIS**_?"

Ai whirled around, eyes wide in surprise. " What are you talking about?"

" The man who died trying to keep that bastard from taking you!" Ace said angrily. " Do you really think that he would want you to go back into that hellhole?"

" _**DON**_ ' _ **T TALK ABOUT SOMETHING YOU DON**_ ' _ **T UNDERSTAND**_!"

" Oh, I understand exactly." A disgruntled voice from behind Ai said. Pain descended over her eyes as Ace saw the main slaver stand from the wreckage of the wall. " She now understands that she doesn't get happiness. Doesn't deserve it. She's going to pay for ever thinking she can get a life of freedom. Slaves don't get to be free and happy! They are nothing but useless pieces of trash and they cause nothing but pain. Just like how she caused Alduin pain. Hell, she even caused him to get killed."

An eerie calm descended over Ace as he saw Ai drop her head in shame, saw her sink to her knees, at seeing her hands tremble and tears drop onto her hands. " All she is is poison. She causes pain all around her when she tries to be better then what she actually is. Trying to rise above the fact that she is a pathetic orphaned slave. No one wants you. Not the people of this archepelago, not the world, and especially not your own parents. No one wants you. You should never have been born."

Ai felt the walls that she had built around herself shatter at the slavers words. At the truth that she had always known but wanted to deny for so long but couldn't any. She had enjoyed being with her sisters, hearing their stories of the Kuja Pirates and Amazon lily, but they had abandoned her eventually She loved being with Pops and her brothers but she was terrified that they would eventually do the same if she didn't earn her keep.

She was about to stand to go to the slaver when she felt someone place something gently on her head. Looking up she saw Ace standing above her with his hand holding his hat gently onto her head. " A-Ace…?"

" You're not going anywhere." He said calmly. " And I'm going to fucking end him for touching you."


	20. Chapter 20

Author: enjoy the new chapter everyone! I'm off to take a nap.

" You're going to end me." Holland laughed lifting his pistol and aiming it directly at Ace. " That's cute, kid."

" A-Ace!" Ai said hurriedly. " The bullets! They're-"

" Sea Prism stones." Ace calmly to Ai's surprise. " The scientists that work with the Marines developed to better combat the Devil Fruit Users that are also pirates."

" H-How did you know?"

" When I passed through the Sabaody Archipelago I saw them used on a pirate captain there. It's been almost a year since I went through there so it didn't register when you were initially shot. It took me a while to figure out why it didn't faze through you."

" B-But…"

" I'll be fine." Ace smirked down at her. " I just have to not get shot."

" Not get shot!" Ai spluttered. " That's your plan? Your plan is to not get shot!"

" It's a pretty good idea." Ace said. " I don't know why you're mad."

" Because you should have a better strategy then just not getting shot!"

" Well it's a pretty good strategy in my opinion." Ace said arms crossed.

" Well it's a pretty stupid strategy if you ask me!" Ai snapped hurrying to get her feet. " You should have a better strategy then just not getting shot!" She said as she tried to fight off the dizziness that flooded her head.

" Well that wasn't the only part of my plan."

" Well what was the other part, then?"

" I ran my fist down his throat!"

" And?"

" Or I ram my foot up his ass."

" And?"

" Repeat steps one and two."

" That's it?"

" Yep!"

" You're a moron."

" You could say thank you."

" Moron!" Ai said as a wave of dizziness washed over her again, causing her to stumble slightly. Ai's eyes widened as she felt a pair of strong arms wrap securely around her waist and shoulders, locking her against a well muscled chest. Looking up she saw Ace smirking down at her. " What?"

" You're worried about me."

" You're an idiot." Ai said, her eyebrow starting to twitch.

" An idiot that you are worried about."

" I'm going to hit you."

" Uh-huh!" Ace said grinning down at her. The concern for him was so evident in her eyes it was funny. Ace was also enjoying how good she looked in his hat. So many images of what he wanted to do to her while she was wearing that hat flooded her mind.

" W-What are you starring at?" Ai said becoming slightly uncomfortable at the creepy smirk that had come across his face.

" Nothing."

" Well stop it!"

" Stop what?"

" Starring!"

" I already said I'm not starring."

" Yet you still are!"

" So?"

" _**STOP IT**_!" Ai squeaked, her face turning red as Ace's face neared her's. " _**W**_ - _ **WHAT ARE YOU DOING**_?"

" I already told you," Ace said, his lips only inches from her's.

 _ **WHAM**_!

" Nothing." Ace said as he drove his fist hard into her diaphragm, knocking her unconscious, catching her weight quickly. _She_ ' _s going to fucking murder me when she wakes up_. Ace thought angrily.

" Damn, it's about time." Holland said in disgust. " I was waiting for you to strip her down naked and bang her right here."

Ace felt his face twitch as he set Ai gently down before straightening up to face the slaver. " I'd shut up if I were you."

" Why?" Holland said making a gagging face. " Only speaking the truth. Not that I'd blame you. With those tits and ass, I can't hardly wait to fuck her myself."

 _ **WHAM**_!

Anger pulsed through Ace as he drove his fist into the slavers fist. " Shut your fucking mouth, you bastard!"

" I'll talk about that little tart however the fuck I want." Holland said, wiping the blood from his now broken nose. " I own her, I'll talk about her however I want!"

" You don't fucking own her!" Ace snarled, flames kicking up around his fists.

" Hate to break it to you kid, but I do!" Holland grinned. " That mark says I own her until the highest bidder does."

" She isn't fucking property, you fucking bastard!" Ace snarled. " And I'm going to enjoy beating that face into your fucking skull!"

" Waby Fewaf, ip'f fawy im hewe!"

" I know sweetie, but it's the only place on the island the bad men won't think to look for us." Ceras told a small boy with baby blue hair who was clutching her leg fearfully as they huddled inside the cave near the middle of the jungle. She had always been afraid of these caves. She had heard tales from the villagers that demons lived in these caves. That they had stolen a little girl from the village and in some versions of the story, eaten her soul.

Now that she was older she didn't believe in such stories but it didn't dismiss the face that they were still creepy…and damp…and drafty…and did she mention creepy?

" But Miff Cewaf!" Mira said nervously following after her. " What about the mompfewf?"

" There aren't any monsters, Mira." Ceras said in a reassuring voice. No matter how assured she tried to sound, the children didn't seem to be.

" Bup aww dah fowief fay of!" A girl younger then Mira had said, her pink eyes were wide with fear.

" Stories aren't always r-" Ceras broke off when she caught sight of a large mound with what looked like a tree sticking up, a few feet in front of them. At least, she thought it was a tree. It was so dark it was hard for her to tell. Still she pulled the children closer.

At first she was happy when Jonas had left her and the children at the caves, but now she wasn't so sure. What if someone or something attacked them? She wouldn't be able to protect the children. She wasn't Ai or Oracle, she wasn't a fighter. The best she would be able to do is scream really loudly.

To make matters worse she had no idea where Jasmine and Jameson were. If anything were to happen to them, not only would Ai never forgive her, but she would never forgive herself.

" What's that?" Mira asked curiously, hurrying over to the mound.

" _Mira_!" Ceras squeaked worriedly. " _Be careful_." Mira had been so scared when the slavers had chased them into the jungle. However now, she seemed back to her normal happy self. She didn't know how kids could be so resilient.

" Wook!"

Ceras was snapped from her thoughts quickly at the sound of Mira's scared voice. " Mira! What's wrong?" She said hurrying over to the child. " What is it?"

" _A_ - _A doww_!" Mira said nervously pointing to a small ragged doll with ripped up clothes laying on the mound. " The stories awe twue!" The small purple haired girl cried.

" It's alright, Mira!" Ceras said soothingly, taking the girl gently into her arms comfortingly. " It's alright!"

" Lady Ceras!" A boy around Jameson's age said, his blog hair hanging in-front of his eyes. " There's a sword here too! A big sword!"

There was a sword there and it was big sword too. Huge in fact…and familiar too. A very familiar looking sword. She had seen it before, actually.

A large claymore with sapphires and rubies encrusted in the handle. Black leather was wrapped around the grip, a large scar ran diagonally across the blade. This sword belonged to her uncle, Alduin. She had seen paintings of him throughout the mansion when she was growing up. That's is, until her father had them all removed.

Yet there was no denying it, it was his sword…but what was it doing here was beyond her. It should be with her uncle, wherever he was, not in some dingy cave.

Reaching forward, a jolt of electricity shot through her entire body as her fingers brushed against the hilt. " What…what the…?"

 _What just happened now_ …? Ceras thought ni confusion. Before she could stop herself she reached out and wrapped her fingers around the sword's grip.

Just as her fingers closed around the grip, a flood of images and emotions fell into her mind. Images of a tall man with long black hair tied back into a ponytail. He wore all black. Several layers of thick animal leather was strapped to his left hip. A large cross scar ran diagonally across his face. He's body was strong and muscular. This was the man that she knew to be her uncle, Alduin.

Many of the images of him were with a woman. A woman with long, wavy baby blue hair and round, happy sea foam green eyes. They looked happy, in love happy, actually. Judging by the wave of emotions that flooded her as the images rushed by they were deeply in-love. The happiness that flowed from them made her jealous. She wished someone would look at her like that. Alduin had a wonderful smile…she could never remember her father ever smiling like he did.

" _That woman_ …" She heard herself whisper. " …she looks just like Ai."

" Her name was Elia…"

Ceras jumped at the sound of a deep baritone voice. Her head snapped up quickly at the sound and she almost screamed. Sitting there across from her, only a few feet away, cross-legged and smiling at her was Alduin. " W-When did you get here?"

" I've been here for many years, Ceras." Alduin said calmly.

" Why?" Ceras asked angrily. " Why are you here instead of being out there helping people!" As Ceras spoke her uncle's smile never waivered. " _**WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU**_! _**WHY ARE YOU JUST SITTING THERE SMILING FOR**_! _**YOU COULD BE OUT THERE HELPING EVERYONE**_!"

" I can't help them, Ceras." Alduin said calmly.

" _**WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN**_ ' _ **T HELP THEM**_!" Ceras yelled, her normal calm demeanor gone. " _**YOU**_ ' _ **RE DRAGON D**_. _**ALDUIN**_ , _**THE BLACK DRAGON**_! _**YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT**_! _**YOU TOLD GRANDFATHER TO GO FUCK HIMSELF**_! _**GRANDFATHER**_! _**DRAGON D**_. _**MALIKAI**_! _**A RETIRED MARINE ADMIRAL**_! _**NO ONE TOLD HIM NO**_! _**NO ONE BUT YOU**_! _**NOT ONLY THAT BUT YOU DEFIED FATHER TOO**_!"

" It wasn't hard to defy Apophis." Alduin said calmly. " He was a spineless coward who took pleasure in beating women and children."

" _**BUT YOU DID IT**_! _**AND NOT ONLY MEMBERS OF FAMILY BUT THE MARINES TOO**_! _**YOU ARE A PIRATE! YOU HAVE A**_ _ **700 BILLION BERI BOUNTY ON YOUR HEAD**_! _**YOU WERE A COMMANDER IN WHITEBEARD**_ ' _ **S FLEET! IF ANYONE CAN HELP US**_ , _ **IT**_ ' _ **S YOU**_!"

" Was."

" What?"

" I _was_ a commander in Whitebeard's fleet." Alduin said calmly.

" _So_?" Ceras said in annoyance. " You are still a pirate! You can st-"

" Ceras," Alduin said interrupting her. " I can't help them. I can't…"

" Why not?"

" Think about it, child. Why would I be here in this cave? Why would my sword be here…sticking out of the ground? Why, that, for twelve years no one has seen or heard from me? Why Ai is now, the Second Division Commander and not me?"

" What are you s-" Realization hit her like a ton of bricks. The mound in the cave with his sword was his grave… " You're dead."

" Bingo, kiddo." Alduin said calmly. " I died about twelve years ago."

" But how are you here now?"

" You woke me up." Alduin said. " In a sense, that is. I've been watching what has been going on in the world, especially on this archipelago. Especially with Ai being here."

" Why do you care about Ai?" Ceras asked curiously.

" I promised her mother I'd do everything in my power to keep her safe." Alduin said as pain flooded his dark eyes. " When you grabbed my sword earlier and some of my memories flooded into you, you saw her."

" Ai's mother?"

" Her name was Elia." Alduin said, a small very sad smile spread across his face. " Most, if not all, of my most cherished memories were because of her. She was such a kind hearted woman…and she gave me my greatest treasure ever."

" Greatest treasure?"

" Ai." Alduin said. " Or Aiko as her mother named her…"

" Aiko?"

" It means: Beloved Child." Alduin said. " Elia named her that before she passed. I was overjoyed when I held that small, blue haired bundle in my arms. She had the biggest smile and the most beautiful laugh that I had ever heard in my life. Ai was our beloved child and I failed to keep her safe…"

" What are you talking about?"

" When she was little, around three or four, the same slavers that are here now…came and were taking people from this archipelago. Someone had hired them to specifically person from here…that person was Ai."

" But she was only a toddler! Still a baby, really!"

" And to a hateful person like that it doesn't matter." Alduin said. " Ai was merely an obstacle that needed to be removed…and she was…and I failed to stop it. I failed to keep my daughter safe."

" Daughter…" Ceras said quietly. " If she's your daughter…then that must mean…she and I are-"

" Cousins, yes." Alduin said smiling. " But from the looks of you two, you could be twins."

" But why don't I remember her?"

" Well for one, you were five when she was taken…and two, I hid her from those in the mansion."

" W-What? Why?" Ceras asked. " She's your daughter! That means she's the true heir to our family! Not me!"

" Exactly." Alduin said calmly. " Apophis wanted nothing more than to be Malikai's heir. If I were gone then he would be…and trust me, I didn't want to be here…ever. But if there were a chance of me having a child…then the old shit bag would by pass Apophis and go straight to my child."

" So…Father was the one?"

" No, Apophis was stupid. He never knew Ai existed. I hide her in a small house in the jungle…where Oracle would watch her when I had to deal with Apophis…which was all the time. I left her, quite often. She ended up stealing food from the local markets…I promised her a better life too. One where I could be there with her forever and keep her safe…somewhere far away from here." Alduin said blankly.

" Yet someone else knew. Someone who has the power to erase the memories of everyone on this island. That person made it so that Ai was simply a story. Something to scare children into behaving. Yet when she came back to these islands…and the person that hurt her found out she was still alive…it started the chain of events that you currently find yourself in now."

" But why would she let that person know she alive?"

" Ai was to young to remember that person was dangerous, or for that matter who that person even was. That person hurt her has the ability to manipulate people's emotions and memories for their own gain."

" _That_ ' _s horrible_!"

" When Elia died I should have taken Ai to the fleet…but Elia wanted me to let her know this island…to know the beauty of the home she and I knew as children…" Alduin said, his voice starting to crack from trying to hold back his sadness. " Taking her to the fleet would have been the best way to have kept her safe! Pops would never have let the things that had happened to her happen…if something had happened to me while she was with them, Pops would have moved Heaven and Earth to keep her safe."

" She found them eventually." Ceras said reassuringly. " And from what I've seen they love her! Marco is really protective of her."

" He would." Alduin said, a small smile forming at the thought. " That big nerd."

" Uncle…was this doll Ai's?" Ceras said cautiously, when he nodded she continued her questions with even more caution. " Who was the person that hurt her when she was little." Alduin went silent for a long time. " Uncle…who was it?"

" Your…mother…Ikkan Dragon."


	21. Chapter 21

Author: Hi everyone! Here's a new chapter, hope you all like it!

" My head…" Ai whispered, placing her hands over her eyes, shielding them from a blinding white light that surrounded her. Everything hurt. It even hurt to breath. Why did it hurt to breath?

" … _fuck_ … _my head_ …"

" Oh sweetie…you really should use such language. It isn't very ladylike."

Ai's eyes snapped wide open quickly at the sound of a soft feminine voice. Rolling stealthily onto her stomach, wincing in pain, she looked around quickly she saw a small woman with long, wavy soft baby blue hair and sea foam green eyes smiling down at her. Part of her blue hair was braided back in a waterfall like pattern. She wore a soft white dress that went down to her slightly past her knees and wore pure white sandals. " W-Who are you?"

" My name is Elia Waters." The woman said softly, kneeling beside her, a kind smile still present on her face.

" Um…that's nice, Miss Waters-"

" Elia."

" What?"

" You can call me Elia." The woman said, still smiling.

" Still..what are you doing here?"

" I wanted to see you…" Elia said worriedly. " To speak to you."

" Why?" Ai asked, cautiously scooting away from the woman. " What are you really after?"

" Aiko…" Elia said reaching longingly for her. Fear ran quickly across Ai's face when the woman said that name.

" What did you just say?"

" I called you Aiko, that's your name." Elia said softly, sadness filling her green eyes.

" That isn't my name." Ai said cautiously.

" Yes it is." Elia said sadly. " That has always been your name. Since you were born."

" You're wrong!" Ai said hurriedly. " I didn't have a name! I didn't have one until I was four!"

" Aiko-"

" _**STOP IT**_!" Ai yelled angrily. " _**STOP CALLING ME THAT**_! _**THAT ISN**_ ' _ **T MY NAME**_!" Tears swelled up quickly in her eyes as she backed quickly away from the blunette, wrapping her arms protectively around herself.

" Sweetie…" Elia whispered sadly reaching comfortingly towards Ai.

" Don't!" Ai said skittishly, looking around worriedly, trying to find an escape in the vast white light area that seemed to stretch on forever. " Don't touch me! Just leave me alone!"

" Sweetie…I'm not going to leave you now." Elia said soothingly. " I refuse to!"

" Why! I'm nothing to you!"

" That isn't true! You were everything to me!" Elia said quickly. " You made me the happiest person alive even if it was only for a few months."

" What are you talking about?" Ai asked nervously.

" I only got to hold you in my arms for a few moments you were my entire world…you were my everything." Ao froze at the sincerity in the woman's words. Yet that made her even more wary of her. The woman had to be insane. Talking to Ai like she knew her.

" The moment I saw you I fell in-love with you." Elia said sadly. " You were so small and sweet. Your cheeks were so round and rosy. Your eyes were so round and curious. The moment I saw you and held you, you captured my heart."

" Who are you?" Ai asked warily.

" The first time I held you you could fit right here." Elia said lifting the crook of her arm. " You were so small and fragile, but you were so spirited, so energetic. You had your father's spirit. I knew you were going to be strong and I was right."

" Lady, you're insane!" Ai said sadly, scooting away from her, her arms still protectively wrapped around her. " The only father I have is Whitebeard and he found me in a slavers prison cell."

" Edward has done a wonderful job at raising and loving you…but sweetie, Edward isn't your biological father." Elia said softly, reaching a hand towards Ai. " Your birth father-"

" My birth parents didn't want me!" Ai cried backing even more quickly away from Elia, tears streaming down her face.

" That isn't true!" Elia said rushing towards Ai and pulling her tightly against her. " Don't you ever think that because it isn't true! Alduin and I loved you more then anything else in the world. You _**WERE**_ out world!"

" W-What…?"

" You're the best thing that had ever happened to us. You are were our precious child and we loved you more then anything else in the world."

" Y-You're-"

" I'm your mother, Aiko." Elia said loving, pulling Ai closer to her. " I love you so much, my sweet little Aiko."

" I don't have a mother!" Ai cried.

" Of course you do!" Elia said stroking Ai's hair soothingly. " How else do you think you were born?"

" But where were you?" Ai cried sadly. " Why did you leave me? What did I do wrong that you didn't want me?" Elia went silent at Ai's question for a very long time, still stroking Ai's hair soothingly, resting her cheek on top of Ai's head.

" I was the one that did something wrong, Aiko…not you. You were completely innocent in what had happened."

" What do you mean?"

" She took someone away that wasn't her's to have." A displeased female voice said. Ai looked up to see Ikkan glaring hatefully over at them. Ai had never in her life seen someone glare at her the way Ikkan was right now.

" What?" Ai said in confusion. " Lady Ikkan…what are you doing here?"

" She took someone that belonged to me and me only!"

" He wasn't yours!" Elia said sternly. " He wasn't property! He didn't belong to anyone!"

" Why you filthy little street urchin!" Ikkan said taking an angry step towards Elia. " Alduin was mine and you stole him from me! You were just a worthless florist and he was a nobleman's son!"

" I don't know why he-"

" You didn't deserve him!" Ikkan snapped angrily. " He was mine!"

" What do you mean he was your?" Ai asked in confusion.

" I was to marry him! He was mine!"

" It was an arranged marriage…" Elia said sadly. " One that he ran from."

" _**HE WAS MINE**_!"

" Did he love you?" Ai asked blankly. " And did you love him?"

" He was mine!" Ikkan snarled.

" That wasn't my question."

" What does love have to do with anything?" Ikkan said in disgust.

" What is the point in being with someone you don't love?" Ai asked. " All that would do is make both people miserable."

" He was mine! Promised to me by my father and his!"

" That doesn't make him your's." Ai said blankly. " He wasn't their's to bargain with!"

" That's how the lives of nobles are, though." Elia said quietly, her arms still wrapped protectively around Ai. " Their children are nothing to them but bargaining chips. Something to use to gain strength or status against another."

" What does a peasant like you know about the matters of your betters?"

" I knew aldrin's heart. Something that wasn't bought but given freely!" Elia replied, her head held high in defiance. " I may not have had much to give him but my love and respect…but he took it and cherished it fully and completely." With that Elia placed Ai behind her, putting herself safely between Ikkan and Ai, arms folded defiantly.

" Why you little-"

" That man was stubborn and hot headed. He was impatient and pigheaded. When he made up his mind there was no changing it. Yet," Ai heard Elia's voice soften, she could sense the love in the small woman's next words. " Yet he could be so gentle and kind to innocent people. He made friends easily. Regardless of their station, he would be there to welcome them as a friend and comrade. The men serving under him would gladly lay down their lives for him and he would do just the same for them. When he loved someone, he loves them entirely."

" He sounds like-"

" Sounded!" Ikkan snarled, cutting Ai off. " Alduin is dead!"

" Dead?" Ai said weakly. " But-"

" _**HE**_ ' _ **S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU**_!" Ikkan said hatefully to Ai. " _**IF YOU HADN**_ ' _ **T BEEN BORN THEN HE**_ ' _ **D STILL BE ALIVE**_!"

" W-What?" Ai said, her face going pale.

" Don't you dare blame my daughter for what happened to him!" Elia snapped protectively. " She isn't the reason he died and you know it!"

" You're right." Ikkan snarled. " She's not the only one to blame here, both of you are! If you hadn't come along and stolen him and then whelped that worthless slave then he would still be alive. Alduin wouldn't have had to die trying to save it."

" Your right." Ikkan snarled. " She's not the only one to blame here, you both are! If you hadn't come along and stolen him and then whelped that worthless slave there, then he would still be alive…Alduin wouldn't have died trying to save it."

Elia went to take a step towards the woman when a hand caught the hem of her dress weakly. Turning, she saw Ai grasping her dress, head dipped, her blue hair hiding her eyes. " Aiko?"

" Is it true?" Ai asked, her voice breaking slightly.

" Is what true?"

" Did Alduin die because of me?"

Kneeling gently, Elia pulled the blunette against her, kissing her forehead lovingly. " Your father did what any good father would. He protected you with his life."

" But it was my fault!"

" _**NO IT WASN**_ ' _ **T**_!" Elia yelled sternly. " _**NONE OF WHAT HAPPENED WAS YOUR FAULT**_!" She cupped Ai's face and lifted it so that she was looking the girl in the eyes. " Look and listen to me, Aiko! It was not your fault!"

" _**YES IT WAS**_!" Ikkan yelled. " Just think of it, Elia! If you hadn't conceived that brat then you might not have died."

" Yes she did!" Ikkan said smuggle. " She died giving birth to you! Further proof that you shouldn't exist! You cause the death's of those who are closest to you! You only cause pain and suffering! Why do you think your so called sisters left you all those years ago? Because they knew you'd cause them pain and death. No one wants you! You shouldn't exist! You're cursed!"

Ai felt a familiar fog descend over her mind at Ikkan's words. Pain flooded into her as her trembling became worse, tears swelling in her eyes. " _I_ -"

" Don't you dare listen to her lies!" Elia snapped. " Do you hear me! Don't you dare!"

" Did you die because of me?"

" _**NO**_!"

" Don't lie to the girl, Elia."

" I died after giving birth to you, Aiko." Elia admitted.

" I killed my mother…" Ai whispered weakly, tears streaming down her face. " Oh God! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! She's right! I sh-"

 _ **SLAP**_!

Ai blinked in surprise as Elia slapped her upside the head, an extremely disgruntled look on her face. " I will slap you again if I hear that kind of nonsense come out of your mouth again, young lady! I am your mother and you _will_ listen to what I have to tell you!"

" I-"

Elia listed her hand again causing Ai to flinch slightly, eyes wide.

" Now you listen to me, young lady!" Elia said sternly. " Yes I died shortly after you were born but that wasn't the reason I died." When Ai started to interrupt Elia lifted her hand, instantly silencing the teen. " I died from her jealously." Elia said nodding back to Ikkan. " She slipped poison into my drink. It caused me to go into early labor. I lost a lot of blood…that combined with the poison caused my death. Not you, my love. Never you."

Cupping Ai's cheek gently, she leaned forward, placing her forehead against her's. " I want you to listen to me and listen well. You are the best part of my life! I look at you and how far you've come and overcame."

" Why would you be proud of an orphaned slave?" Ai whispered dismally.

" I am proud of the child that went through something so traumatic that most adults wouldn't." Pulling Ai against her, wrapping her securely in her arms. " For such a small child you have such a loud voice. You lost one family but found another. One that is a thousand times larger then the one you lost but loves you just the same. I love that you aren't afraid to help someone regardless of the societal status, age or beliefs. You have such a big heart for such a small girl."

Ai looked down shyly at Elia's words. She felt hear rise in her cheeks at the woman's praise. She never thought about her positive attributes. Most of the time she didn't think she really had any.

Yet hearing Elia talk about her right now made any and all doubts she had about herself disappear. She felt herself relaxing against Elia as the woman began to stroke her hair soothingly.

Elia smiled cradling the younger blunter against her lovingly. " My sweet baby girl." She whispered stroking her cheek gently. Lifting her head gracefully, she glare at Ikkan, sea foam green locked on cold blue eyes.

" You haven't won, peasant!" Ikkan smirked lifting her hand towards Ai.

" You keep your filthy, evil hands away from my daughter, you hateful, pathetic old hag!"

" _**WHY YOU LITTLE**_ -"

When Ai saw Ikkan step threateningly towards Elia she felt an overwhelming desire to protect her. Before she realized what she was doing she threw her hands up and yelled. " GET AWAY!" The strongest gust of wind flew out of her hands causing Ikkan to completely disappear.

" W-What happened?" Ai stuttered, her eyes wide in shock.

" You fought back against an evil that had been haunting you since before you were born." Elia whispered sadly.

" I-"

" Aiko," Elia said before pausing. " Ai, look at me." She saw the teen tense up nervously before obeying. " You are such a lucky girl."

" I don't know what you're talking about." Ai said quietly.

" I think you do." Elia said. " You have so many people who love you. So many people who would do whatever possible to keep you safe." Reaching forward she lightly brushed a strand of hair away from Ai's face. " Jonas…Oracle…Mr Newgate…the crew…the children at the Home…Ceras…and-"

" And?" Ai asked curiously when Elia had broken off.

" That boy…he's going to need you…and you are going to need him."

Ai felt her face flush hot as she realized just who _that boy_ that Elia was referring to. " I-" She broke off when Elia leaned forward and kissed her forehead. A rush of emotions flooded her at the action.

" You are the best thing to have happened to me, my Aiko…my daughter. I want to live a long and happy life. Full of excitement and adventure…and full of love. I want you to know that your existence is not a crime or a sin. If anything, you've made this world better just by being here to help others. I know you made mine better."

With that said, Elia began to fade. " _**WAIT**_!" Ai cried worriedly. " Where are you going?"

" Back to Alduin…back to your father."

" But…stay…please?"

" I can't, love. I have to go." Elia said wistfully. " My time in this world is done."

" But…mom-" A smile appeared on Elia's face before she faded away completely.


	22. Chapter 22

Author: OMG! IT SEEMS LIKE AN ETERNITY THAT I LAST UPDATED SPARKS! Well, I hope you guys enjoy this new chapter and I appreciate all of your support and comments! Please keep them coming! I love your honest opinions! Hope you all enjoy it and have a great day! ^_^

—

' _ **FUCK**_!' Marco thought hurriedly, as he shot quickly upwards into the air, his arms becoming fiery blue wings. ' _ **FUCK**_ , _**FUCK**_ , _**FUCK**_! _**HOW DID SHE GIVE ME THE SLIP**_?' He thought angrily searching the ground below for Ikkan. When Ace had ran to help Ai, he and Ikkan had began to fight and she had somehow managed to give him the slip. He needed to find her before she found Ace and Ai. Marco couldn't believe he had never noticed how much Ai resembled Elia. They could have been twins. He rounded the corner to see several slavers storming through the jungle after a few of the villagers.

 _ **BANG**_!

Marco froze a few feet above the tree line as one of the slavers fell face first into the mud at the sound of a loud gunshot. He quickly scanned the surrounding area for any sign of the shooter.

" _**JIMMY**_! _**BUDDY**_! _**WAKE UP**_ , _**DAMN IT**_!"

Marco's attention returned once more to the slavers, the villagers were now safely away. 'Who fired that shot?' He thought frantically, hoping the shooter was a ally.

 _ **BANG**_!

Marco's head snapped to the right as he heard another shot rang out. He finally spied a lone individual high on a nearby hill, skillfully hidden amongst the treelike, a sniper rifle poised in-front of them. Marco felt his eyes widen when he realized that it was Jonas. ' _Just who the hell is watching those kids_?'

He noticed the man glance towards him, a silent understanding passing between the two. Marco nodded quickly before he took off, renewing his search for Ikkan. He flew higher in an attempt to get a better view of the island.

' _Come on_ , _come on_!' He thought worriedly. ' _Where are you_?' The longer it took for him to find her the easier it was for her to find his cremates. He circled the island three times before he finally decided to head towards the flames. If he couldn't find Ikkan then he needed to get to the others before she did.

—

Ace held Holland up by the scruff of his shirt, anger pulsating through his veins. It was so bad that he thought he was going to set himself on fire. The only thing he could think of was all the pain

was the scars and burn mark in Ai's small frame. The thought of someone hurting her made his blood boil.

" _**YOU FUCKING BASTARD**_!" Ace yelled as his fist landed square with Holland's jaw.

" Go ahead, boy. Unleash that anger! Let it all out! Just like I'll do once I have that little blue haired bitch underneath me! Squirming frantically with my dick in her or even better, in her ass!" Holland laughed causing Ace to see red.

 _ **WHAM**_!

 _ **WHAM**_!

 _ **WHAM**_!

" _**STOP**_!" Ace's fist froze as he felt a soft hand touch his shoulder. He glanced over his shoulder to see Ai standing before him, dressed in all in white. Her wavy blue hair fell delicately around her face and shoulders. The sight of her before him was enough to quench the angry fires in his soul.

" Ace," She whispered stroking his cheek lightly with her thumb, making his face turn bright red. " It's alright, Ace."

" Ai, you shouldn't be moving around! You have a broken arm and a damn bullet wound! You-"

" I'm alright, Ace." Ai said softly, pulling her gown off to show him her missing injuries. Ace felt even more heat surge into his face at the sight of her naked form. " See, I'm fine!" Ai whispered, hugging his free arm to her plentiful chest.

" _W_ - _What are you_ -"

" Ace," She whispered, playfully biting her lip. " Stop fighting…please. Just let go and we can-"

 _ **WHAM**_!

 _ **BANG**_!

Ace felt something hard collide with his head, knocking it to the side just as a bullet sailed past his ear. He felt a bead of sweat roll down his cheek.

" _**WAKE UP YOU FUCKING PERVERT**_!"

Ace blinked in shock as he heard ai's angry voice cut across the field. " _**GET YOUR FILTHY MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER AND BACK IN THE FIGHT**_ , _**DUMBASS**_!"

 _ **CLICK**_!

 _ **SHIT**_! Ace thought, shoving Holland away before the pistol could fire again. He darted sideways in time to narrowly miss another bullet. Once he was a safe enough distance away he noticed Ikkan standing beside where he had previously been. A large amount of bile filled his mouth at the thought of her touching him. Her touching him and putting those images of Ai into his head.

" _**GET YOUR HEAD BACK IN THE FIGHT**_ , _**YOU PERVERT**_!" Ai yelled angrily, grabbing another rock to hurl at him.

 _Yep_! Ace thought, his eyebrow twitching. _That_ ' _s definitely her_ , _alright_. _Bad attitude and all_.

" Once again you've ruined my plans, you little bitch!" Ikkan growled hatefully to Ai. " Just think! If you hadn't been born that both your mother and Alduin would still be alive!"

" You know, I blamed myself for years after Alduin's death but then I realized something. If you hadn't been such a evil, jealous, hateful _**BITCH**_! Then I could have had a loving mother and father!" Ai snapped causing Ikkan to go pale. " But ya know, if you hadn't come along and fucking everything up…I might never have met Pops or my brothers…" A smirk sassily crossed Ai's face causing anger to flood Ikkan's eyes. " You may have taken one family away from me, but because of you, I have another one…must be a real kick in the teeth, huh? I have been the one thing that you wanted to be rid of and you still wound up with nothing!"

" _**WHY YOU LITTLE BITCH**_!" Ikkan screeched.

" You wound up losing the one thing you wanted most because you were nothing more than a jealous and greedy bitch!"

" _**YOU LITTLE BITCH**_!" Ikkan growled storming towards Ai. " _ **I WILL KILL YOU**_!"

" _**AI**_!" Ace yelled attempting to rush to her side.

 _ **BANG**_!

" _**FUCK**_!" He yelled, narrowly dodging a direct hit from another bullet. A small amount of blood trickled down his arm from the bullet.

" I just realized who you are, boy!" Holland laughed, catching Ace's attention. " You're Fire Fist Ace! Your bounty is 300,000,000 Beris!" A smirk played across the fire wielder's face at the reveal of the information. He had seen Ikkan pause in her attempts to get to Ai. " I knew I had seen you somewhere before! I have your wanted poster in my cabin!"

" Good! Now that you know who you are dealing with, I'll enjoy burning you to a crisp even more!" Ace said as he felt the talon around his neck beginning to heat up, a surge of energy like he had never felt before. Anger pulsated through him as he took in the sight of Holland before him. The slaver looked as though he was going to wet himself as ace walked towards him.

" Ace…" Ai whispered as she saw blood red flames begin to envelop him. She felt all the will to move leave her as she watched him walk closer and closer to the slaver. The amount of heat that radiated from him was overwhelming, even as far back as she was. A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek as she saw Ace grab Holland as he made a feeble attempt to flee.

" You caused a lot of people pain…" Ace said, his voice cold and emotionless as he gripped the slaver by the throat. " I'm ending it now."

" M-Mercy!" Holland gasped as Ace tightened his hold. A new wave of hatred flooded him at the man's audacity. Before he could think Ace's hand tightened, the flames now encompassing the slaver. Screams of pain filled the air along with bones snapping and fat boiling and popping.

" _A_ - _Ace_ …" Ai gasped at the sight in-front of her. All the color drained from her face as she saw Ace set the man who had tormented her for years on fire like he was a human sized candle. When the smell of burning flesh hit her it was all she could do to not vomit…and when she saw Ace turn towards her, she them she began to tremble.

She saw Ikkan tense up fearfully as Ace locked his black eyes on her. " _S_ - _Stay back_!" He was silent as moved closer to her. " _**I SAID STAY BACK**_!"

" What's wrong? You were trying to get all touchy feely with me earlier." Ace said, his smirk never faltering in his steps. With each step he towards her the fear in her eyes grew.

" _**I SAID STAY BACK**_!" Ikkan screeched, snatching ahold of Ai by her hair and held a dagger to her throat, causing Ace to pause. " _**THAT**_ ' _ **S RIGHT**_ , _**YOU BRAT**_! _**YOU ARE SO DETERMINED TO KEEP THIS LITTLE WHORE SAFE**_ , _**RIGHT**_? _**STAY BACK OR I**_ ' _ **LL SLIT HER WORTHLESS THROAT**_!"

" Oh, you suck so much!" Ai groaned, squirming weakly against the older woman's grip.

 _ **WHAM**_!

" _**GYAH**_!" Ai cried in pain as Ikkan drove her knee into the girl's wounded side. " _Y_ - _You_ … _f_ - _fucking_ … _b_ - _bitch_!" Ai whimpered as pain pierced her like a red hot pocket. The pain nearly caused her to pass out.

" _**LEARN HOW TO PROPERLY SPEAK TO YOUR BETTERS**_ , _ **SLAVE**_!" Ikkan hissed as she yanked Ai's hair forcefully. " _ **DON**_ ' _ **T YOU DARE TAKE ONE MORE STEP**_ , _**BOY**_!" She growled noticing that Ace had made a motion at her actions, the hand holding the blade beginning to tremble.

" Why don't you just let her go…" Ace said cautiously, lifting his hands up as an act of cooperation.

" Why are you so damn important, huh?" Ikkan hissed into Ai's ear. " You and that whore mother of yours! All you do is ruin peoples lives! Why do they still continue to try to save you?"

" Maybe because I'm not a two face manipulative bitch!"

" _**WHY YOU LITTLE**_ -"

" From what I've seen, you've ruined more lives then I have!" Ai snapped. " You killed Alduin, my mother sold countless people into slavery! You even tried to auction off Ceras like a common whore! You are one of the worst people I've ever met!"

" _**YOU FUCKING**_ -"

" People like you never change…but just know that your plan has failed!"

" My plan was to ruin your life so-"

" I'm done letting you ruin my life! From now on I'm going to live my life the way I want to! Without any regrets!"

" _**NOT IF I**_ -"

 _ **BANG**_!

Ikkan broke off as a sudden rush of pain flooded through her chest as a piece of hot metal tore through her chest. " W-What?" She gasped as her knees gave out beneath her.

" _AI_!" Ace yelled as he heard the sound of a pistol discharging, unable to determine where it had come from. He felt his heart skip a beat when he saw Ikkan fall to the ground; her knife knick Ai's throat. " _**SHIT**_!" He yelled, catching the blunette as she fell.

" A-Ace?" Ai whimpered weakly as she lay limp in his arms, the warmth of the dragon's fire engulfing the both of them. She thought she saw something that resembled hunger in Ace's eyes as he gazed down at her. The fire the danced in his eyes threatened to consume him if she didn't do something quick.

" You're cold." Ace said sternly as he gazed at the small woman in his arms. Her scent wafted into him as she lifted a small, trembling hand to traced his jawline weakly. The fire that burned within him demanded that he take her as his own. To fill her with the fire that burned within him. The wind of her soul would ignite the fire of his and then-

" W-Who fired the pistol?" Ai asked her voice shaking in fear at the thought of more Sea Prism Stone Bullets out there.

" I don't-" That was when he saw the last person he had expected emerge from the treeline. Pale faced and trembling, Ceras stumbled forward, pistol pointed directly at Ikkan's motionless body. " Ceras…"

" W-What?" Ai gasped in disbelief.

" How could you?" Ceras asked weakly, her pistol and blue eyes still locked on Ikkan. " These are my people! _**MY FAMILY**_! How dare you do something like this to them! How dare you do something like this to me! Your own daughter!"

" I won't…" Ikkan's weak voice gasped in pain cutting through the silence. Ace saw the woman glaring in disgust at where he held Ai protectively. " I won't allow it." She hissed hatefully in their direction. " I won't allow you and her to be together! _**ALDUIN**_! _**YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE MINE**_! _**NOT THAT LITTLE PEASANT WHORE**_ ' _ **S**_! _ **MINE**_!" The woman glared hatefully over at where the man she wanted more then anything else knelt, with that blue haired bitch in his arms. How dare he give the love that was rightfully her's to another. When he looked at her with more love in his beautiful black eyes then he had ever given anyone else, including her. " _**YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE MINE**_ , _ **ALDUIN**_! _We could have had a wonderful life together_!"

" We would have had a miserable life." Alduin said tightening his hold onto Elia's hand before he stepped towards Ikkan. " You didn't love me, Ikkan. You only wanted the title that came with me. You would have grown to despise me, just as you did Apophis. Instead of cherishing my child you decided to try to rid the world of the only thing that was left of me…the best part of me…you held no love of me in your shriveled heart."

" I-" Ikkan whimpered weakly before all hatred and light left her eyes and she fell to the ground dead.

Ace held Ai protectively to him as they both watched in surprise as the normally calm and lady-like Ceras had lost all decorum. " _**HOW COULD YOU**_!" Ace tightened his hold on around Ai as he watched her cousin vent sixteen years of pent up hostility and anger out at once.

" _Warm_ …" Ace glanced down at the blunette in his arms at the sound of her weak voice. He saw the tiredness evident in her green eyes growing more fierce as the minutes ticked by. The fiery hunger surged through him as she curled closer to him. He wanted nothing more that to take her right here and now. To reignite the flickering flame of her soul and combine it with his.

" _**Ai**_ …" He growled as he saw her face inch closer to his. " Are you-" Before his common sense could kick in Ace felt Ai's delicate hand pull his face towards hers and kiss him square on his lips. Ace felt his eyes widen in surprise at her bold action.

His common sense seemed to disappear completely at the feel of her soft lips against his. He almost lost his sense when he felt her press her soft body against his. When he felt a hesitant nip on his lower lip he thought he would lose himself completely. Pulling her closer he felt a low growl of pleasure escape him before he opened his mouth slightly, allowing her curiosity to flourish.

As he allowed Ai to sweep her tongue lightly around his own he did not realize that the fire around him began to die down and return to the talon around his neck.

When they finally broke apart, both equally breathless and panting, a mischievous smirk flashed across Ai's face. " You suck at kissing, by the way!"


	23. Chapter 23

Author: Yay new chapter for Sparks! For my American readers, Happy Independence Day! Thank you all for the favorites! Enjoy the chapter!

—

Ai busted out laughing at the surprised look on Ace's face. " _W_ - _What_?"

" Oh you two are absolutely disgusting!" Ace jumped at the sound of Marco's disgusted voice. " Get a damn room! I swear I'm gonna vomit!" Ace looked up to see the First Division Commander gently take the pistol from Ceras' shaking hands.

" Says the completely useless old man who showed up late to the fight!" Ace snapped adjusting the now unconscious Ai slightly in his arms. " About fucking time you guys got here!"

" Oh shut up, you little shit!" Marco snapped. " I tried to find Ikkan before she found you, but I guess I failed."

" No shit! Ai almost made the crazy bitch over there slit her throat!" Ace snapped.

" Key word there is almost. Now, why do I smell burning pork fat?"

" Just shut up, old man. Now, where the hell did you get that pistol from, Ceras?" Ace asked, standing and lifting Ai securely to him.

" From Jonas, right?" Marco asked placing the pistol securely in the strap on his hip.

" _Y_ - _Yes_ …" Ceras stuttered nervously.

" So, how does an Orphanage Care Taker have all kinds of firearms?" Marco asked curiously.

" Jonas is a former Marine sniper. A few years ago he came here after being wounded in the line of duty. He liked the peace and quiet here so much her decided to stay. Not long after that Miss Ai came back and set up The Home. Jonas and Oracle volunteered to take care of the children." Ceras said, her hands and voice still shaking. " I-" She broke off when the nearby foliage began to move, a few dozen disgruntled male voices could be heard coming closer and closer with each passing second.

" Oh no!" Ceras whimpered fearfully. " What if it's someone worse than Holland?" Marco said nothing as he pulled her protectively behind him, his black eyes trained on the rustling foliage.

" What if-"

" _**AAAAAAIIII**_!"

Marco almost face planted as he saw the entire Second Division come hurtling through the treelike into the clearing. " _**WHAT ARE YOU MORONS DOING HERE**_?" He yelled in annoyance.

" We were worried about Ai!" One of the crewmen said.

" Yeah! Thatch got your message about the villagers being shipped to Mariejois and Pops dispatched us and the Fourth here to help!" Another said hurriedly.

" So you idiots are blundering around the island unsupervised?" Marco snapped.

" No, Thatch and most of the Fourth are finishing rounding up the rest of the slavers on the island." The first crewman said. " Thatch sent us to find you guys."

" What happened to Ai?" A third crewman asked noticing the condition the blunette was in.

" She met the bastard who sold her into slavery." Marco said causing the men to mutter angrily.

" And he did that to her?" The first asked tightening the grip on his weapon. " Where is the son of a bitch!"

" Ace set him on fire."

" I wondered what stunk." Another growled hatefully. " We need to get her to Kaito quick! Those injuries look bad!"

" Is he here?" Ace asked worriedly, noticing how pale Ai appeared. He pulled her closer to him as he realized how cold she was.

" He stayed behind to take care of the hostages from the slave ships."

" _**WHAT THE**_ -"

" _**JONAS**_!" Ceras yelled quickly cutting Ace's tirade midway. " He had medical field training! He'll be able to take the bullet out and stitch Miss Ai up in no time! At least until you can get her to the doctor on your ship!"

" Then let's hurry our asses up and find him!" Ace said protectively.

—

Several hours later Ace sat in one of The Home's many rooms, beside the bed that Ai currently occupied. It had taken Jonas several hours to patch Ai up. He was even able to remove the bullet lodged in her side. He said most of her wounds should heal rather quickly if she took it easy and rested.

" Like that'll happen." Ace muttered as he sat in the chair next to the bed. Ai was way to stubborn and hard headed to relax and let others take care of her. He felt his eyebrow twitch at the thought of her attempting to do daily tasks. " Stupid woman." He grumbled. " You look like absolute crap. Why did you have to be so damn stubborn? You have a lot of people that count on you and you had to be a stubborn idiot."

His eyes flicked to her bandaged left arm. Jonas stated that the way the break was would cause significant issues for her in the future. She may or may not have full use of it.

That was going to hurt her.

She was going to feel useless.

" You aren't useless." Ace said calmly. " You aren't a sin…you aren't me. My existence is the sin…but you, your father wasn't the devil."

The freckled teen jumped as a small whimper came from Ai. He saw her uninjured hand grip the bedding and her breathing increase. He instantly was reminded of Luffy whenever he had a nightmare. Without thinking, he reached over and took her hand in his. Her skin felt cool against his own. " _Hey_ ," He whispered softly to her. " Calm down…you're safe now. They…they're gone. They aren't going to hurt you anymore."

" I'm sorry!" Ai whimpered weakly. " Alduin…"

Ace froze at her words.

Did she really still blame herself for what happened to her parents?

" It's going to take a while for her to stop blaming herself. She's done it for so long after all." Ace jumped at the sound of a deep baritone voice. He looked up to see a tall man with long black hair tied back into a ponytail standing across the room from him. He wore all black. Several layers of thick animal leather was strapped to his left hip. A large cross scar ran diagonally across his face.

" Who are you?" Ace growled protectively standing between Ai and the man. The man didn't respond, his black eyes were locked sadly on Ai. He never once took them from her and Ace saw that they were filled with immeasurable amounts of pain.

He walked from where he stood over to where Ai lay on the bed, Ace felt his hand fly instantly to where his dagger was on his hip. " Relax boy…I'm not going to harm her." The man said reaching down to cup the blunette's cheek loving. " I'm so sorry, my little blue bird. You deserved so much better then what you've were given."

" Are you…are you her father? Are you Alduin?" Ace asked cautiously.

" I am…the one thing I had promised her mother that I would do was protect her and I failed. She was so little in those cells and there were many times those bastards almost killed her. That collar around her neck broke me. I couldn't do anything to help her…"

" You were dead, how could you have helped her?"

" I should have taken her far away from this place. To where Pops was…nothing bad would have dared to hurt her there." Alduin said weakly, his black eyes broken.

" God…both of you are idiots." Ace said in annoyance. " From what I heard about you is that you died trying to protect your kid. There's no use crying about shit that can't be changed now. From what I know about her, she doesn't blame you for what happened. In fact, she blames herself for it. Which isn't going to do her any good and it isn't going to change anything!"

" You don't understand, boy. You aren't a parent."

" No I'm not a parent but my mother died to protect me and I grew up without her." Ace said angrily. " My brother died to protect myself and my little brother. The thought that those people gave their lives for me…it's hard to deal with. It's hard to go through your life with that on your shoulders."

A smile came across Alduin's face at Ace's words. " You remind me of him, you know."

" Who?" Ace asked warily.

" Your father, Gol Roger." Alduin said to Ace's surprise. " He had no problems telling others that they're ideas were wrong. He even got me to rethink my views on Aiko's mother."

" Huh?" Ace said in confusion. He wasn't sure that he liked being related to his father. He still wanted to be his own person. To make his own name.

" When I met you father he gave me this." Alduin said pointing at the scar across his face. " At first I thought of Elia only as a burden, someone who would only hold me back. Elia was only trying to take care of me but she reminded me of the horrible things of my past…I didn't see her as the person who would give me the greatest gift ever given to me in my entire life." He smiled down at Ai and stroked her cheek lovingly. " She looks just like her mother. I'm glad, Elia brought beauty and peace into my life once I stopped being an idiot."

Ace watched Alduin warily, unsure if he should trust the spirit. He had heard stories of the spirits acting as though they were friendly before they attacked.

" Now, you and I need to talk." Alduin said looking up at Ace. " What are your intentions towards my daughter?"

" M-My what?" Ace stuttered a red tint flooding his cheeks.

" You stole my daughter's first kiss and told those slavers that she was your wife." Alduin said, his eyes locked dangerously on Ace. Daring him to say something that would hurt Ai. " Now, where you just pretending and if so, I may need to teach you a lesson."

" I-uh-I…" Ace stuttered, his face even more red. " Listen! Ai and I don't even like each other like that so piss off, old man!"

" Mhm, listen here boy. If you hurt my baby I will haunt your ass until your dying day!" Alduin snapped protectively. " And for another thing, Ai is delicate and is not someone you need to torment with your whoring around."

" _**WHORING AROUND**_!" Ace snapped. " What kind of guy do you think I am!"

" A teen boy who has had and can still have his fair share of lovers. However, my daughter will not be another notch on you bedpost."

" I don't want her to be and we don't even like each other like that so shut your pie hole!" Ace snapped.

" I'll shut it when I know my daughter is loved and her heart won't be broken!" Alduin said protectively. " She's seen enough pain in her life."

" I'm not going to hurt her!" Ace said firmly trying to avoid eye contact. Alduin walked around the bed and grabbed the teen by the scruff of his shirt, forcing him to meet his gaze.

" If you hurt her, you'll wish you were never born." The ghost said, the aura in the room suddenly becoming deadly.

" I'm not going to hurt her, I don't know how many times I have to say it!" Ace snapped angrily. " Get it through you dead head, old man!"

" You better not, boy. " Alduin said, his black eyes narrowing. " I'll hold you to your word."

Ace jerked suddenly awake, looking around for the former Second Division Commander and finding himself alone with Ai. Sighing in exhaustion, Ace ran his fingers through his hair. Glancing over at her he saw her brow was furrowed. " Hey," He whispered softly, leaning forward and stroking her cheek softly. " You're ok. No one is going to hurt you anymore."

" _**Ace**_ …" Ai mumbled softly. The teen froze at the sound of his name. She was dreaming about him. " _S_ - _Stop_ , _th_ - _that_ …"

 _What the hell is she dreaming about_? He thought.

" _**Ace**_!"

The teen boy raised an eyebrow curiously as she called his name once again. Leaning forward he checked her pulse, as strong and steady as it should be. " _Mmm_ , _ **Ace**_!" He felt his face redden as he heard he moan his name.

 _She_ ' _s cute when she_ ' _s quiet_. He thought, stroking her unbruised cheek. Another soft moan escaped her lips at his touch. He couldn't take his eyes off those lips. He remembered just how soft they were too. Without thinking, he leaned forward even more so that he was only centimeters away from hers.

 _ **WHAM**_!

" _**FUCK**_!" Ace gasped clutching his jaw in annoyance. He glared at the sleeping blunette who had delivered the blow, her good arm still fully extended. _Stupid woman_! He thought angrily, his eyebrow twitching.

" Jackass." He heard her mumble sleepily, readjusting herself.

" So unattractive!" Ace said before leaving the room.

" _**NII**_ - _ **FAN**_!" Mira squealed happily once she caught sight of him in the kitchen. She left down from her seat on Ceras' lap and rushed to him, hugging his leg tightly. " _**HOW IF NEE**_ - _ **CHAN**_?"

" She's still sleeping." Ace said awkwardly, gently ruffling the girl's soft lavender hair.

" Jonaf faib fee if gonna be bebbew foon!" The little girl said excitedly.

" It seems like it." Ace said rubbing his jaw in annoyance. _Personality isn_ ' _t hurt at all_. He thought.

" What happened to your jaw?" Ceras asked worriedly.

" I walked into a door." Ace grumbled, not wanting to admit what had actually happened.

" Here," Ceras said taking his hand and leading him to the table. " Let me take a look at that."

" Don't worry about it." Ace said dismissively. " I'll be fine."

" Oh no, sit! I won't take no for an answer!" Ceras said, winking at him. She made him sit before heading to grab the first aide kit. " Mira, make sure he doesn't try to escape." The small girl laughed before climbing onto Ace's lap. Ceras opened the kit and began pouring disinfectant onto several cotton balls.

" _**OW**_!" Ace said, wincing as she dabbing one onto a small cut on his jaw.

" Oh come on, a tough pirate like you can handle a little bit of rubbing alcohol." Ceras laughed as he winced again. " So how did you hit your jaw on the door again?"

" I'd rather not talk about it." Ace grumbled causing the heiress to laugh.

" Of course." She said.

—

Marco stood hesitantly in-front of the entrance to the cave. Ceras had told his where it was.

 _ **Here**_ …

Here was where his brother's body laid. It had almost been seventeen years ago that Alduin had disappeared with Elian and the fleet had searched relentlessly for him.

Now that Marco knew the search was over, that Alduin was dead…he couldn't bring himself to set foot inside the cave. He had fought countless battles against untold amounts of foes. He couldn't count how many times he had faced death before and never once had he been as terrified as he was now…

Now he felt like a frightened child again.

He knew he had to, though.

He had to confirm what the others had told him.

To see with his own two eyes his brother's fate.

Finally he squared his shoulders and walked forward, into the cave. Lifting his hand up, he summoned a small patch of blue fire illuminating the cave. Not far off he found the proof he needed.

Alduin's large claymore marked his grave. At the sight of it, Marco felt a wave of emotions flood him.

 _ **Anger**_.

 _ **Pain**_.

 _ **Sadness**_.

 _ **Regret**_.

" Why…?" He whispered weakly as he stopped in-front of the grave. " Why didn't you come back? When you found out Elia was pregnant? Why didn't you come back to the fleet?" The First Division Commander felt his knees give out as he fell forward onto them. " _**WHY**_!" He yelled as tears filled his eyes, his voice beginning to crack. " _**WHY DIDN**_ ' _ **T YOU BRING THEM TO US**_? _**WE WOULD HAVE PROTECTED THEM**_! _**ELIA AND AI**_! _**THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN SAFE WITH US**_! _**AI WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN A SLAVE**_! _**SHE WOULD HAVE KNOWN HER MOTHER AND FATHER**_! _**SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN SAFE**_!"

For a while Marco sat there sobbing, finally venting seventeen years worth of pain. He jumped suddenly as he felt a hand pat the back of his head comfortingly. " So you can cry…and here I thought you were made of solid stone."

Marco jerked his head upwards at the sound of a voice he hadn't heard in years but would never forget. " Alduin?" His eyes widened at the sight of his lost brother, grinning goofily down at him. " _**YOU BASTARD**_!" For several long minutes Marco yelled at the apparition in-front of him. Calling him several colorful names in several different languages.

" I missed you too, Brother." Alduin said before his eyes saddened. " I'm sorry for everything. For the pain I caused everyone."

" You had better be, you bastard!" Marco snapped angrily.

" I also wanted to thank you for everything you all did for me. For all that you've done for Aiko." Alduin said. " Pops found her and you all gave her the love she should have had from the very beginning."

" You should have brought Elia to us the minute you found out she was pregnant!"

" I know." Alduin said sadly. " Trust me, I have never stopped regretting it."

" I ought to beat your pretty boy face in for dying on us!" Marco snapped.

" Like you could."

" _**YOU**_ ' _ **RE LUCKY YOU ARE ALREADY DEAD**_!"

" Uh-huh, you couldn't take me even when I was alive."

" _**YOU JUST WAIT UNTIL I MAKE IT TO THE AFTERLIFE**_! _**I**_ ' _ **LL KICK YOUR SPECTRAL ASS**_!"

" Knowing you, you'll fucking up dying somehow."

" I fucking hate you!"

" Don't lie, I know you _**looooove**_ me!"

" Oh go rest in peace already, you bastard!"

" I will when you promise me one thing."

" _**WHAT**_!"

" That you'll take care of my daughter." Marco froze at his brother's words, not expecting them.

" What the hell kind of request is that?" Marco snapped. " I've been helping to raise that hard-headed little brat since we found her!"

" I know that, I-"

" I'm the one who taught her how to use her powers in the first place!"

" I know that, Marco! I-"

" I even had to give her _**The Talk**_! Do you realize how awkward it is trying to explain something like that to a kid who kept equating it to making a sandwich!"

" Why didn't Kate explain it? He's a doctor!"

" I don't know! Something about not wanting to corrupt her innocent mind!"

" Wha…why a sandwich?"

" I don't fucking know, your kid is weird!" Marco said scratching the back of his head. " But yeah, I'll keep an eye on her."

" Thank you, my brother."


	24. Chapter 24

Author: Yay new chapter for Sparks! Hope all of my American readers had a great Indepedence Day! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

—

Ai blinked awake weakly, shifting her gaze around the dark room, barely registering her surroundings. Her head pounded as her eyes adjusted to the room's dim light. Finally, she registered that was at the Home. She felt herself begin to relax once again, that was, until she had the sudden urge to pee.

" _**Shit**_!" She grumbled as she struggled weakly into a sitting position. When she finally was able to, she worked on catching her breath before gathering her strength to stand. At an extremely unsteady pace she managed to make her way to the door.

 _Everyone_ ' _s probably asleep_. She thought to herself as she managed to open the door. She limped her way out until she caught sight of several members of the Second and Fourth Divisions snoring loudly in the hallway.

 _When did they get here_? She thought curiously before continuing down the hall towards the bathroom.

She tried to remain as quiet as possible as to not wake up her cremates but it wasn't easy. Her breathing was loud and ragged and she needed to stop on several occasions to catch her breath. She had nearly made it to the bathroom when she heard low voices coming from a nearby room. She noticed a soft light flickering from a slightly opened door.

 _Who the hell is awake at this hour_? She thought curiously as she limped over to see.

—

" Ceras, really, I'm fine!" Ace said awkwardly as the dark haired girl assisted him to the bed.

" You've had quite a bit to drink, Ace!" Ceras laughed smiling down at him. " You could have fallen down the stairs and woke everyone up."

" Oh, no I wouldn't have! They could sleep through a damn hurricane." Ace laughed glancing up at Ceras. She looked so much like Ai it was hard to comprehend that they were merely cousins.

Before he was able to think she leaned down and captured his lips. At first he was surprised but slowly relaxed and pulled her closer.

Ceras moaned excitedly as she pulled him closer, running her fingers eagerly though his thick, wavy black hair, nipping greedily at his bottom lip. She felt her head begin to spin as she inhaled his warm scent. Her body tinged as she felt him trail his hands along her curves. " Oh Ace!" She moaned eagerly as he slid his tongue over her pulse, one hand cupping her bottom, the other sliding inside her robe. He slid the top of her robe downwards past her shoulders, kissing his way down towards her breasts.

—

Ai couldn't bring herself to watch anymore. She didn't need to see Ace hooking up with Ceras. Backing away from the door she felt tears start to prick her eyes. She shook her head quickly attempting to rid her mind of the thought of Ace with the heiress.

What did she care who Ace slept with?

She winced slightly as pain shot through her wounded side. She needed to get out of here. She needed to sit down and catch her breath first. She also _**REALLY**_ need to pee!

—

" _**ACE**_!" Ceras gasped eagerly as Ace kissed his way downwards to her naval. Straddling his waist hungrily she tilted his face upwards and kissed him again. The feel of his rock hard body against hers was exhilarating. She had been with a few men before this but none of them had excited her like this. They were all boring and she didn't know why.

Maybe it was because Ace was a pirate. Him being an outlaw and her always being the good girl was thrilling. It was like something from one of the many romance novels she had read. She didn't really want a relationship, she just wanted a good hard lay after all that had happened.

Her head spun as Ace grabbed her and pinned her to the bed, her robe completely undone now. She needed this. This complete distraction from her horrible life. This- " _**Ai**_ …"

She froze at the sound of her cousin's name. Had he really just said that? " _**Ai**_ …"

" _**Oh no**_!" Ceras said shoving him backwards.

" _**No**_ , _ **no**_ , _ **no**_!"

" _W_ - _What_?" Ace said looking as confused as a drunk teen boy could be.

" Did you really just call me by another girl's name?" Ceras snapped pulling her robe back on quickly.

" What are you talking about?"

" You just called me-oh never mind!" Ceras said as she stood and made her way to the door.

" Seriously, what are you talking about!"

" You just called me _**Ai**_! I am not her!"

" Well no crap, I know you aren't her!" Ace said as her words made his face redden.

" Then why did you just call out her name when we were about to have sex?" Ceras snapped as she grabbed the doorknob.

" I didn't mean to!"

" It doesn't matter if you meant to! You still did!" Ceras said glaring at him. " That's not exactly how you get a girl in the mood! Calling her by her cousin's name!"

" Listen, that's not what I wanted to happen!"

" Of course it wasn't! That wasn't what I wanted either!" Ceras snapped. " If you want Miss Ai so much then go to her!"

" I don't-" Ace stopped dead in his tracks. He didn't want to want Ai. She was stubborn, hard headed and a complete pain in his ass. Yet the entire time he had been with Ceras, Ai was all he could think of. He didn't know why. He didn't want to think about her.

He thought that maybe sleeping with crease would cure him of wanting to be with Ai. Ceras was almost Ai's exact copy after all. Once he slept with her Ai should have been out of his thoughts. All she ever did was get in his way whenever he tried to fight Whitebeard. She was way to stubborn for him. When she set her mind to something there was no changing it.

That's why he liked Ceras so much.

She was easy.

She didn't argue with him. If he wanted to do something she didn't argue with him like Ai would. That was, until now.

" Not like that!" Ace snapped.

" Mhm, that's why you called out her name, just now!" Ceras laughed, a Cheshire Cat smile now on her face. She saw the look in his eyes and realized the truth. He did care about Miss Ai very much and she shouldn't intrude. " I see, you really do like her a lot."

" _**I DON**_ ' _ **T LIKE HER LIKE THAT**_!" Ace yelled, his voice cracking slightly.

" _**SHHHH**_! You're going to wake everyone up!" Ceras said quickly, waving her hands. " I'm positive you don't w-"

 _ **WHOOOSH**_!

" What the-" Ceras gasped as she felt a strong gust of wind suddenly flood the house. Then just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished. " What was the-Ace? Where are you going?"

Ace darted off the bed swiftly to se several small pools of blood on the floor. " _ **SHIT**_!" Ace yelled as several crew members were looking around in confusion.

" What's going on?" One asked sleepily.

" Ace?" Thatch asked sleepily ducking his head out of a nearby room. " What are you doing awake?"

" I think the better question is, who was he doing awake?" Marco snapped as he marched towards them. The fire wielder noted the annoyance in the First Commander's voice and saw his eyes flick to the now forming hickies forming on Ceras' neck.

" Shut up and I don't know what happened just now. There was a huge gust of wind all of a sudden. I think something may be wrong with Ai."

" _**MARCO**_!" A second crew member yelled. " _**AI**_ ' _ **S NOT IN HER ROOM**_!"

" Please everyone, calm down!" Ceras said hurriedly. " You'll wake the children!" Ceras became even more uncomfortable when she noticed Marco's eyes narrow on her.

" Back off, Marco. We need to find Ai before she gets herself killed." Ace growled as the commanders nodded in agreement.

—

A soft wind blew lightly at the top of the only mountain on the island. Ai sat against the lone tree, gripping her wounded side weakly. She let out a much needed sigh. She had to get out of there to think. She couldn't have stayed in the Home with the thought of what she had seen and with the pain of her chest as bad as it was.

" Fucking bastard." She muttered weakly, tears once more forming in her eyes. _Stop it_! She thought angrily. _Stop crying over some stupid shit head_!

" Boys are very dumb, sometimes."

Ai jumped at the sound of Elia's voice. She looked up to see her mother smiling down at her. " You should stop doing this." Ai said quietly. " I keep thinking I'm dead each time."

" My dear child, you aren't going to die for a long time." Elia said kneeling beside her. " I only got to see you for a few moments when you were born before I passed…so as many times as I can I will visit you."

" How can you appear like this? You're dead after all." Ai said weakly. Elia smiled, pulling Ai against her.

" This is where your father laid me to rest." Elia said softly.

" _This is your grave_!" Ai squeaked in surprise.

" This is where we met for the first time as children. This is also where he told me he loved me for the first time." Elia said lovingly. " And where he asked me to be his wife…and where I told him that I was pregnant with you. Many wonderful things happened under this tree, I'm glad I'm here."

" Why wasn't he buried here as well?" Ai asked.

" You'll have to ask Oracle that." Elia said calmly. " He followed your father's orders to the letter. He probably thought he didn't deserve to be buried with me. He blamed himself for my death after all."

" Men are dumb." Ai said relaxing against her mother.

" Yes and they need us to help them stop being dumb." Elia laughed nuzzling Ai gently. Ai smiled as she heard her mother begin humming a soft tune.

" I know that tune from somewhere." She said curiously.

" It's the lullaby I used to sing to you while I was pregnant with you. Your father sang it to you after I passed as well." Elia said smiling.

" _Cast away your worries, my dear_

 _For tomorrow comes a new day_

 _Hold to me, you've nothing to fear_

 _For your dreams are not far away_

 _As you lay your head and you rest_

 _May your dreams take over, my love_

 _Listen close, my child of flowers_

 _For your destiny lies above"_

A felt her eyes grow heavy as she listened to her mother's angelic voice soothe her worries. Her whole body relaxed as she began to drift off.

" _Though the world is cruel_

 _There's a light that still shines_

 _In the darkest days of our lives_

 _When all hope seems lost_

 _and you can't find your way_

 _Think of me as you look to the sky_

 _Child mine, your future is bright_

 _For your father's blood's in your veins_

 _In dark times, I pray you will fight_

 _For the world will soon know your name."_

" My beautiful child." Elia said softly once Ai had fallen asleep. " You must rest and grow stronger. If you don't take care of yourself we will be reunited sooner than we're meant to."

—

Ace ran into the nearby jungle attempting to locate Ai by her Haki. It was faint but he could sense it. " Damn it! Stupid woman!"

Why did she have to run off?

Why did she have to be such a pain in the ass?

" Wait…did she hear me and Ceras…"

The lightbulb in his head finally went off. Her disappearance mixed with the blood in-front of his bedroom door now made sense. She had heard him and ran off.

" _**FUCK**_!" He yelled angrily rushing towards the mountain where he sensed her Haki. " _**FUCK**_! _ **FUCK**_! _ **FUCK**_! _**AI**_!" He yelled emerging from the treeline to see a lone great cherry blossom tree at the edge. There he saw Ai leaning against a beautiful woman that greatly resembled her.

" Ah, so you must be Ace-san." The woman said happily.

" Who the fuck are you and what are you doing with Ai?" Ace asked protectively.

" You should lower your voice a little, young man!" The woman snapped quickly. " You'll wake Aiko up!"

" _**Aiko**_ …? _Are you_ … _you_ ' _re her_ -"

" Aiko is my precious baby girl and I told you to lower your voice!" The woman snapped hugging Ai closer to her. " Now stop being so loud and sit down, young man!" The fire wielder sat down obediently at her words.

" _**I**_ -"

" You do not have permission to speak, young man! Now hush!" The woman snapped silencing him instantly. " My name is Elia Waters, Aiko's mother. You and I have a few things to discuss, young man!"

" _A_ - _About_ -"

" Did I give you permission to speak, young man?" Elia snapped quickly, silencing the boy quickly a slight shiver of fear ran through him as her green eyes narrowed. He had fought countless opponents previously and he never once felt fear until now. This woman was a spirit and from what he had heard about her she was a kind person who never raised her voice at anyone. Yet the spirit before him gave him a aura that made him cower in fear.

Was this the aura of an angry mother?

" Now, you listen to me, young man! You made my baby cry and I will not accept that! I expect you to apologize to her for what you've done!"

 _She was crying_? Ace thought in surprise. He felt like someone just sucker punched him in chest. He was felt horrible now.

" Now, you must decide if you want my daughter or my niece." Elia snapped once more causing Ace's face to redden.

" _D_ - _Decide_?" Ace stuttered.

" That's right!" Elia snapped. " You tried to have your way with little Ceras and you kissed my baby not once but twice!"

" _**W**_ - _ **W**_ - _ **WAIT A MINUTE**_!" Ace stuttered quickly. " _**THAT FIRST TIME WAS BECAUSE THOSE SLAVERS THOUGHT SHE WAS CERAS AND TRIED TO TAKE HER AWAY**_! _**THE SECOND WAS ALL HER**_!"

" So you didn't enjoy kissing her and Ceras is the true object of your affection!" Elia concluded.

" _**THAT**_ ' _ **S NOT WHAT I MEANT**_!" Ace yelled his face reddening even more.

" Didn't I tell you to keep your voice down!" Elia growled a vein throbbing in her forehead. " If you wake my baby up when she's in such a bad condition then you will regret it." Ace gulped fearfully as the woman glared at him.

" I'm sorry, ma'am!"

" My baby hasn't had much experience with men and you hurt her very much! Now what are your intentions with her?"

" _M_ - _My intentions_?"

" Are you just going to use her for your own dirty-"

" You know for dead people you two but in a crap ton." Ace said still red faced. " You can't force people to do what you think they should just because you're spirits. Destiny doesn't work like that!"

" Destiny?" Elia said, her eyebrow quirked.

" Whether I like her like that or not, you can't force me to decide to admit anything!" Ace said. " Now stand aside so I can heal her wound!"

" Heal her wound?"

" Her side is bleeding right now and I can cauterize it!" Ace said quickly his hand heating slightly.

Elia blinked in surprise as Ace completely ignored her and hurried towards Ai. She watched as he gently laid his hand against her daughter's wounded side and heated it even more. Elia felt her heart skip a beat when she heard Ai cry out in pain as Ace closed her wound. She paused when she saw Ace pull her daughter tightly against him. " _You_ -"

She blinked in surprise as she saw Ace bury his face into Ai's hair. " _Shhh_ , _just relax_." She heard him whisper softly. " Don't worry. You'll be ok in just a few minutes. Just a few more minutes."

" _Ace_ …" He heard her whisper weakly.

" Shhh," Ace whispered as he felt her relax against him. " just a few more minute." Elia's eyes softened at the sight before her. Standing swiftly she leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his brow.

" Take good care of my baby, young man."

—

Author: I hope you guys don't get to upset with this chapter or think bad of Ace! Teenagers make mistakes and he is fighting with his emotions right now. Teens are such silly ppl! :D Also the lullaby that Elia sings to Ai is the one that Inuyasha's mom sings to him. The part: _my child of flowers_ is altered from _my son of the west_ to better fit Ai.


	25. Chapter 25

Author: Yay new chapter for Sparks! Hope all of enjoy it! I hope all of my American readers enjoyed a safe Independence Day! I appreciate every one of my readers and I thank all of you for continuing to read my stories! I also made some new pictures of Ai, you can check them out at the links below

earthstar001/art/Dance-Free-753246265

earthstar001/art/Ace-s-hoodie-753247361

earthstar001/art/Irritated-Tease-753247611

earthstar001/art/Spin-753247891

earthstar001/art/Comfort-753248329

earthstar001/art/Second-Division-Commander-753248883

—

" _**PUT ME DOWN**_ , _**YOU FRECKLED FACE JACKASS**_!" Ai snapped as Ace lifted up into his arms as they neared the Moby Dick. She pushed his head back angrily. " _**I CAN GET UP THERE ON MY OWN**_!"

" _**WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP**_ , _**YOU STUPID WOMAN**_!" Ace snapped back as he held her awkwardly.

" If you both don't shut up, I'll drop you both in the ocean!" Marco growled.

" _**SHUT UP**_ , _ **MARCO**_!" The two of them snapped as a vein throbbed in both their foreheads. Ever since the had set sail from Isla de Flores the two teens had been at each other's throat. Ace had returned early in the morning holding her sleeping form in his arms. The next few days after that had been filled with complete and total awkwardness as they waited for Ai's wounds to heal enough so that they could make the journey back to the fleet.

Ceras had made it a point to avoid both Ai and Ace as Ace also did his best to avoid both girls. The children in the Home were oblivious to what was going on and were constantly trying to push Ace and Ai to spend time together. When it came time for them to leave the teens would start arguing whenever Ai would attempt to help load the boats.

Ace had finally gotten it through to her that he wasn't going to allow her to open her wounds up by doing something stupid. Whether it was load the boats, steering the boat they were on or even getting back onto the deck of the flag ship.

" Have they been arguing this entire time?" Vista called to Marco as the First Commander lifted several heavy crates onto his shoulders.

" You have no idea. My blood pressure has gone up so much throughout this entire trip." Marco grumbled as he lept upwards onto the deck. He felt the vein in his forehead throb even more as he heard the teens still arguing from down below. " _**WILL YOU BOTH GIVE IT A REST ALREADY**_!"

" _**SHUT UP**_ , _**OLD MAN**_!" Ace yelled before he jumped onto the deck.

" _**THIS OLD MAN IS TIRED OF HEARING YOU BRATS ARGUE NONSTOP**_!" Marco yelled back.

" You would think we'd have a little peace and quiet once in a while." Kato, the ship's doctor grumbled, walking over to where they were. " Well young lady, I was told you were being reckless once again."

" _H_ - _Heh_ , _you could say that_." Ai said awkward, rubbing the back of her head with her uninjured hand. Ace noticed how nervous she seemed now that the thin man was present.

" _**DO YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH OF A PAIN IN THE ASS IT IS TO FIX YOU UP EVERY TIME YOU GET ALL BANGED UP LIKE THIS**_!" Kato yelled making the blunette cower against Ace. The dark haired teen stared wide eyed at the doctor who had lost his normal calm demeanor. " _**AND YOU BOY**_!" He jumped as the doctor turned his fury on him. " _**YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO HELP KEEP HER OUT OF TROUBLE AND LOOK AT THE SHAPE SHE**_ ' _ **S IN**_!"

" _**I**_ ' _ **M NOT HER DAMN BABY SITTER**_!" Ace snapped back.

" _**DON**_ ' _ **T YELL IN MY EAR**_ , _**DAMN IT**_!" Ai yelled angrily.

" _ **WOMAN**_ , _**I SWEAR I WILL DROP YOU**_!"

" _ **I**_ ' _ **LL DROP YOU BOTH IN THE OCEAN**_ , _**NOW SHUT UP**_!" Marco snapped.

" So it looks like Pops plan to send those two off to grow closer together has failed." Vista said helping Thatch up onto the main deck.

" From what Marco told me, Ace stole our baby sister's first kiss." Thatch said.

" _**HE WHAT**_?!" Several nearby crewmen gasped in disbelief.

" Yep…and he even called her his wife."

" _**WHAT**_!" Another round of gasps came.

" And then he tried to hook up with another woman while Ai was recovering just three rooms away."

" _**HE WHAT**_?" The crew turned to glare at the freckled teen who paled instantly.

" But then the girl turned him down and made him come to his senses. Made him realize that he cares deeply for our sweet baby sister!"

" _**AAAAAW**_!" A collected sigh passed through the group at the Fourth Commander's words.

" I'm going to kill him." Ace said, his eyebrow twitching as Thatch continued his story.

" I'll help." Ai said her eyebrow twitching in annoyance as well.

—

" I see, so the slavers have been dealt with." Whitebeard said calmly as Marco gave his Captain a full debrief of the events that had occurred.

" Yes sir, all were executed for their crimes as well as the groups leader."

" Which was?"

" Dragon Ikkan." Marco said causing the elderly man to look at him in shock.

" Dragon?"

" Yes…she was Dragon D. Malikai's daughter-in-law. As well as…" Marco paused hesitantly before he continued. " As well as Alduin's sister-in-law."

" _**ALDUIN**_!" Whitebeard gasped, jumping to his feet suddenly. " Did she say anything about him? Where has he been th-"

" Father… _Alduin died twelve years ago_." Marco said quietly noticing the confusion and then realization that flashed through the elderly man's eyes.

" How?"

" The slavers had apparently visited the island before, kidnapping several of its inhabitants because of their unique features. They were sent there under the orders of Dragon Ikkan. Because of her Alduin was killed."

" Did she order his arrest?"

" No…he was killed when they tried to take his daughter away."

" Alduin had a child? Were you able to locate the girl?" Whitebeard asked quickly.

" Father, Ai is Alduin's daughter." Marco said to the old man's surprise.

" _What_?"

" Do you remember the girl who stowed away on the ship in order to find him?"

" The timid blue haired girl with the stutter?"

" Correct, her name was Elia. They married and later had Ai." Marco explained. " Apparently there was a woman named Ikkan who was the fiancee that he had run from. She was jealous of Ai's mother and poisoned her while she was still pregnant with her." The First Commander paused as he saw his Captain's fists clenched tightly.

" Go on." The elderly man said, his voice eerily calm.

" Ai's mother passed away shortly after giving birth to her. Alduin hid Ai's existence from everyone for fear for her life. The woman found out Ai was alive and ordered the slavers to capture her and sell her. Alduin attempted to save her and was killed." Marco noticed Whitebeard's fists trembled as he closed his eyes, attempting to hide his tears. " I found where Alduin was buried."

" Does Ai know?"

" She wasn't aware of who Alduin was or that he was her father. She only remembered that he loved her and tried to save her. She blamed herself for his death as well."

" Where is she now?"

" In the medical bay. Kato ordered her there the minute we returned. She was to fearful of his wrath to argue with him."

" Good."

—

" Why you need to put yourself in danger is beyond me!" Kato snapped causing Ai to flinch fearfully. " Do you realize how much of a pain in the ass it is to fix you whenever you get like this? How many gray hairs I have now because of you?"

" I'm sorry." Ai mumbled glancing down at the newly made cast on her left arm.

" You had better be." Kato said lighting a cigarette angrily. The doctor went to gather supplies as the ship's nurses ran around to set up for any upcoming traumas.

" Kato-san." The doctor paused in his task to look at the small blunette.

" What?"

" Did you know Alduin?"

" The former Second Division Commander?" Kato said curiously. " Yes, I just started as the ships doctor when he arrived as a new member here."

" What was he like?"

" Stubborn. Arrogant. Pain in the ass." Kato said calmly taking a long drag from his cigarette. " Kept me busy with all his injuries…real pain in my ass."

" _Oh_ …" Ai said quietly.

" He was also loyal to a fault. He would refuse to leave a companion behind. Brave and strong too. He definitely cared about his crewmates."

" Really?"

" Yep. Almost got himself killed a few times." Kato sighed. " I did some of my best surgeries on that man."

" Uh-huh." Ai said suddenly creeped out by how happy the doctor seemed. " Thanks for that bit of info…"

" You remind me a lot of your father, Ai." Kato said to Ai's surprise.

" _W_ - _What_?"

" Now that I think of it, you do look and act similar to him." Kato said, a wisp of smoke slipping out as he spoke. " It appears as though you have not only his personality but his nose and cheek bones as well."

" How did you know that he-"

" Please, I'm one of the best doctors in the world. I can easily identify the child of someone I once considered a close friend." Ai felt her face redden at his words. " I figured it out a long time ago but I waited for you to find out on your own."

" He died because of me." Ai said quietly. " The slavers tried to take me and he tried to stop them. He died trying to s-"

 _ **WHAP**_!

Ai blinked in surprise as a hand collided with her head. She blinked up at the doctor who stared at her with contempt in his eyes. " If I ever hear those words come from your mouth ever again I will beat you to within an inch of your life."

" Huh?"

" Your father did not die so that you would hate yourself. He gave his life so that you could live yours." Kato snapped. " Now, if I ever hear you regret living again, I'll toss your skinny ass in the ocean."

" Why is that everyone's go to move?" Ai grumbled as the doctor pulled out his stethoscope, lightly blowing on the bell before placing it over her chest.

" Slow, deep breaths." He said, ignoring her comment. " In and out." After several quiet moments he made several quick notes on his chart.

" Is my arm going to be alright?" Ai asked hesitantly as the physician continued his exam.

" If you rest it for a while and do your physical therapy as directed I don't see why not." Kato said blankly. " Also, not fighting with that fire brained freckled idiot would help out a lot." The machine that was monitoring her vital signs starting beeping chaotically at his words. " Odd," he stated making another note. " Heart rate of 160, respirations in the thirties…you weren't previously showing signs of tachycardia."

" Just stop t-" Ai broke off when the medical bay doors opened suddenly. She blinked in surprise as Whitebeard walked swiftly towards her bed. " Pops?"

" How is she doing?" The Captain asked Kaito.

" Slightly low on fluids, which could be the reason for her elevated heart rate and respirations." Kato said. " With that, she has a brake in her left arm, several minor lacerations and ecchymosis-"

" Simple words, Kato. Not everyone has three PHDs."

" My apologies, Captain." Kato said. " She has several minors cuts and scrapes along with multiple bruises that are in various stages of healing. However it appears that the bullet wound to her right side has been cauterized by someone. That doesn't appear in the report as a treatment by the field medic who initially treated her."

" It would appear her heart rate has spiked again." Whitebeard noted watching the monitor curiously.

" I'm not certain why." Kato said adjusting his glasses. " I'll start up an iv with electrolytes. That should help." Whitebeard waited until the doctor was gone before he sat down on the bed across from the blunette.

" I apologize for not sending more help with you originally."

" It's not you fault, Pops." Ai said awkwardly. " I did say that to large a group would have raised suspicions."

" Ai, from what Marco told me, you almost died."

" But I didn't."

" You are one of my childre, Ai. The thought of any one of you dying rips my heart to pieces."

" I'm sorry." Ai said suddenly feeling guilty about making her father worry. " I wasn't prepared for what happened. Seeing the man who sold me brought back so many emotions that I have been trying to forget for a long time."

" You needed to deal with those things sooner or later, Ai." Whitebeard said. " I'm sorry that you had to confront them in that manner." Ai smiled weakly at his words. " You will also need to confront what happened when your sisters-"

" I'd sooner jump in the ocean then make peace with them." Ai said gripping the sheets on her bed tightly. Her heart rate became elevated once more at the comment.

" We will discuss that later, now about your injuries." The elderly man said dismissing the grumpy look on the girl's face. " You _**WILL**_ do everything that Kato says to. That included rest and relaxation, letting others assist you with tasks. No being stubborn and trying to do things you know you'll need help with."

" Yes sir." Ai said like a child being scolded.

" That also means not picking fights with the fire boy." Whitebeard said. " No matter how cute you think he is."

" _**I DO NOT THINK HE**_ ' _ **S CUTE**_!" Ai yelled quickly, her face reddening, her head becoming suddenly dizzy.

" That's good, because you are to young to have children." Whitebeard said enjoying how flustered she was becoming. " Although, I admit, the two of you would make adorable children."

" _**CH**_ - _ **CHILDREN**_!" Ai squeaked.

" _**GURARARA**_!" Whitebeard laughed. " Rest easy now, daughter. Those are my orders."

" _Y_ - _Yes_ , _sir_!"

" I expect you to follow these orders, just as any others."

" Of course."

—

Ace stood hesitantly in-front of the medical bay doors, a small bead of sweat trickled down his cheek. Before he could open the door it swung open to reveal Whitebeard who was laughing uncontrollably. " _**STUPID OLD MAN**_!"

The Captain looked down to see Ace staring wide eyed at him, all the color had vanished from it. " Nothing inappropriate, lad. She needs all the rest she can."

" What are you going on about, old man?" Ace gasped his face now flooding red.

" As much as I would like being a great-grandfather, I'd like you to try once she's fully healed."

" _**I**_ ' _ **M NOT TRYING ANYTHING WITH THAT STUPID WOMAN**_!" Ace yelled understanding what the elderly man was hinting at.

" When the time comes, I'll officiate the ceremony for the both of you."

" _**EAT SHIT**_!" Ace yelled, his face now blood red. " _**THERE**_ ' _ **S NO WAY I**_ ' _ **D EVER DO THAT WITH HER**_!"

" _ **GURARARA**_!"

Ace twitched angrily as he watched Whitebeard walk away, laughing so loud that it made the hallway tremble. " Stupid old man." He growled before opening the door.

 _ **WHAM**_!

" _ **FUCK**_!" Ace yelled as a cold, metal bedpan collided with his face. " _**WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR**_?" He yelled as a trickle of blood made its way from his nose.

" _**IF I**_ ' _ **M SO REPELLENT THEN GO AWAY**_!" Ai yelled, causing the her heart monitor to start beeping rapidly.

" _**OH SHUT UP**_ , _**YOU STUPID WOMAN**_!" Ace yelled back. " _**CALM THE HELL DOWN**_ , _**YOUR HEART RATE**_ ' _ **S GOING NUTS**_!"

" _**NO ONE**_ ' _ **S FORCING YOU TO STAY HERE AND LISTEN TO IT**_ , _**YOU JACKASS**_!" Ai yelled wincing slightly. " _**WHY DID YOU EVEN COME BACK HERE**_?! _**YOU COULD HAVE JUST STAYED THERE WITH CERAS**_! _**YOU CLEARLY LIKED HER**_! _**SHE**_ ' _ **S NOT SOME STUPID WOMAN THAT NEVER LISTENS TO YOU AFTER ALL**_! _**I BET YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN FUCKING HAPPIER THERE**_! _ **HELL**_ , _**YOU PROVED THAT YOU LIKED HER WHEN YOU SAID SHE WAS YOUR WIFE AND WHEN YOU**_ … _you know_ …"

Ace froze at her words, cursing inwardly. She really thought he liked Ceras. Ceras was pretty and ladylike but she wasn't the one that frustrated him beyond belief. She wasn't willing to sacrifice her own life for simple villagers or orphaned children. She wasn't the one that challenged him at every turn. She wasn't the one that kept him awake most nights.

The one that who's innocent eyes, loving heart and sweet scent made his blood surge with hunger. " God, you are stupid."

" _**JUST GO AWAY**_ , _ **YOU JACKASS**_!" Ai yelled angrily, turning her face away from him.

 _ **OH NO**_! He thought angrily, striding towards her from the across the room. " Oh no you don't!" He said allowed, gripping her chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him. " _**YOU WILL NOT HIDE YOUR FACE FROM ME**_!"

" _**WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK**_ -" Ai froze at the angry look in his black eyes.

" You are a Commander in Whitebeard's fleet! You don't hide your eyes from anyone!" Ace said fiercely. " Especially not someone under your own command! It makes you look weak…and _**YOU**_ are not weak!" Ace's words shook her to her core.

" Someone under my command?" She said barely more than a whisper.

" I'm staying…" Ace said firmly. " As a member of the Second Division."


End file.
